The National Bank of Commerce in New York was a national bank headquartered in New York City that merged into the
Guaranty Trust Company of New York
J.P. Morgan & Co. is a commercial and investment banking institution founded by J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banking institutions in th ...
(which later became the
Morgan Guaranty Trust Company
J.P. Morgan & Co. is a commercial and investment banking institution founded by J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banking institutions in th ...
, predecessor to
J.P. Morgan & Co.).
History
On January 1, 1839, the articles of association established the Bank of Commerce.
Before it opened to receive deposits on April 3, 1839 in the basement of the
Merchants' Exchange, it had already subscribed $500,000 of its capital to a New York State loan for widening and deepening the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
. The original authorized capital of the bank was $5,000,000, of which $1,505,000 was taken up by the founders with the remainder publicly offered. The first president of the bank was
Samuel Ward of
Prime, Ward & King
Prime, Ward & King was a prominent American investment bank in the 18th and 19th Century based in New York City.
History
In 1796, Nathaniel Prime organized " Nathaniel Prime, Stock and Commission Broker" at 42 Wall Street where he bought and sold ...
.
The first annual meeting was in May 1839 and was held by 565 stockholders. The original director of the bank were: James Brown,
Isaac Carow, James Donaldson,
Archibald Gracie
Archibald Gracie (June 25, 1755 – April 11, 1829) was a Scottish-born shipping magnate and early American businessman and merchant in New York City and Virginia whose spacious home, Gracie Mansion, now serves as the residence of the Mayor of ...
,
James Kent James Kent may refer to:
*James Kent (jurist) (1763–1847), American jurist and legal scholar
* James Kent (composer) (1700–1776), English composer
*James Kent, better known as Perturbator, French electronic/synthwave musician
*James Tyler Kent ...
,
Robert B. Minturn,
Russell H. Nevins
Russell Hubbard Nevins (January 10, 1785 – November 27, 1854) was an American banker and the president of the New York Stock Exchange.
Early life
Nevins was born on January 10, 1785, in Norwich, Connecticut. He was a son of David Nevins of ...
,
Pelatiah Perit
Pelatiah Webster Perit (June 23, 1785 – March 8, 1864) was a prominent New York merchant and banker.
Early life
Perit was born on June 23, 1785, in Norwich, Connecticut and named after his maternal grandfather, Pelatiah Webster. He was the so ...
, John Rathbone Jr., Robert Ray,
Samuel B. Ruggles
Samuel Bulkley Ruggles (April 11, 1799 – August 28, 1881) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1838, and a Canal Commissioner from 1839 to 1842 and in 1858. As a large landhol ...
, Charles H. Russell,
John Austin Stevens
John Austin Stevens Jr. (January 21, 1827 – June 10, 1910) was a leader of business, an adviser of government and a student of the American Revolution. While he was born to a prominent banking family with political connections, it was his intere ...
,
Jonathan Sturges
Jonathan Sturges (August 23, 1740 – October 4, 1819) was an American lawyer, jurist and politician from Fairfield, Connecticut. He represented Connecticut as a delegate to the Continental Congress and in the United States House of Repr ...
,
Peter Gerard Stuyvesant
Peter Gerard Stuyvesant (; September 21, 1778 – August 16, 1847) was an American landowner, philanthropist and descendant of Peter Stuyvesant who was prominent in New York society in the 1600s.
Early life
Stuyvesant was born in New York City o ...
,
Samuel Ward, and
Stephen Whitney
Stephen Whitney (September 4, 1776 – February 16, 1860) was an American merchant. He was one of the wealthiest merchants in New York City in the first half of the 19th century. His fortune was considered second only to that of John Jacob Ast ...
.
After Ward's death on November 27, 1839,
John Austin Stevens
John Austin Stevens Jr. (January 21, 1827 – June 10, 1910) was a leader of business, an adviser of government and a student of the American Revolution. While he was born to a prominent banking family with political connections, it was his intere ...
took over as president of the bank.
At the time of the
National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864
The National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864 were two United States federal banking acts that established a system of national banks, and created the United States National Banking System. They encouraged development of a national currency backed by ...
, the Bank of Commerce was the largest bank in the country.
Charles Handy Russell, a dry goods merchant with
Charles H. Russell & Co., succeeded Stevens as president in 1865 when the bank was converted to the National Bank of Commerce of New York. In 1859,
Robert Lenox Kennedy
Robert Lenox Kennedy (November 24, 1822 – September 14, 1887), was an American banker and philanthropist who served as president of the National Bank of Commerce in New York and the Lenox Library (New York City), Lenox Library.
Early life
Kenne ...
was elected a director and, in 1868, he began serving as the bank's fourth president. He retired from the presidency in 1878 but remained involved as vice-president of the Bank under his successor
Henry F. Vail (who had previously founded the Bank of the Republic with
Gazaway Bugg Lamar
Gazaway Bugg Lamar (1798–1874) was an American enslaver and merchant in cotton and shipping in Savannah, Georgia, and a steamboat pioneer. He was the first to use a prefabricated iron steamboat on local rivers, which was a commercial success. In ...
).
Merger with National Union Bank
In 1900, the bank acquired the
National Union Bank of New York which had been founded in 1893 by the directors of the New York Guaranty and Indemnity Company and its successor, the
, Guaranty Trust, and was associated with the
Mutual Life Insurance Company (Mutual Life's president,
Richard A. McCurdy, was a director of National Union).
Joseph C. Hendrix
Joseph Clifford Hendrix (May 25, 1853 – November 9, 1904) was an American educator and politician who served one term as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from New York (state), New York from 1893 to 1895.
Biograp ...
, a former
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from New York, was the president of National Union from its formation until its merger into the Bank of Commerce. Hendrix became president of the combined entity and
J. Pierpont Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
, the long-time vice president of the Bank of Commerce continued on as vice president of the combined entity.
The combined entity had capital of $10,000,000, which was the capital of the Bank of Commerce in 1877 prior to its reduction to $5,000,000. The consolidation plan "also has the merit, it is said, of providing for the Bank of Commerce the President which it has been looking for since
W. W. Sherman retired from the place last July because of ill-health. William C. Duvall, who was cashier under Mr. Sherman, has been acting as President since then. It was at one time reported that the post was offered to
Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
Gage
Gage may refer to:
Measurement
* Gage is a variant spelling of the word ''gauge''
*Stream gauge, aka Stream gage, a site along a stream where flow measurements are made
People
* Gage (surname)
*Gage Golightly (born 1993), American actress
Plac ...
."
Merger with Western National Bank
In October 1903, the bank acquired the
Western National Bank of the United States which had been founded in 1887.
The Western National Bank of the United States was itself the result of a merger in early 1903 of the larger
Western National Bank of New York (which was closely associated with the
Equitable Life Assurance Society)
and the smaller
National Bank of the United States in New York (which was closely associated with the
Mutual Life Insurance Company and the
Morton Trust Company).
Western National's president,
Valentine P. Snyder, was chosen as the head of the new institution with
J. Pierpont Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
, former Vice President of the National Bank of Commerce, as First Vice President of the new institution.
The combined entity had $25,000,000 of capital, $10,000,000 of surplus, and net deposits estimated at $120,000,000.
"The interesting details of the physical transfer were taken up on Monday, the day when officially the merger was to have effect. They involved carrying some $16,000,000 of cash, of which $12,000,000 was in gold and $67,000,000 of securities in bags and boxes from the Western National Bank Building, on the northwest corner of Nassau and Pine Streets, to the building of the National Bank of Commerce, correspondingly situated at Nassau and Cedar Streets. It was a simple process, and one that attracted but little attention from the passing throngs."
In 1911,
James S. Alexander, became president of the bank following the April 1, 1911 retirement of Snyder.
At the same time,
Paul Warburg
Paul Moritz Warburg (August 10, 1868 – January 24, 1932) was a German-born American investment banker who served as the 2nd Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve from 1916 to 1918. Prior to his term as vice chairman, Warburg appointed as a member of ...
was elected to succeed
Jacob H. Schiff
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...
as a director of the bank.
In 1923, Alexander became chairman of the board of directors, and Stevenson E. Ward became president.
Merger with Guaranty Trust
In 1929, the bank merged into the $2,000,000,000
Guaranty Trust Company of New York
J.P. Morgan & Co. is a commercial and investment banking institution founded by J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banking institutions in th ...
after a consolidation between the Guaranty Trust Company and the National Bank of Commerce of New York.
The new entity, which was brought together through the efforts of
Myron C. Taylor
Myron Charles Taylor (January 18, 1874 – May 5, 1959) was an American business magnate, industrialist, and later a diplomat involved in many of the most important geopolitics, geopolitical events during and after World War II.
In addition h ...
(chairman of the finance committee of
U.S. Steel
United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...
), became the largest bank in the country with Guaranty bringing the largest trust business in the country and Commerce bringing its large commercial banking business.
Before the merger could be completed, the Bank of Commerce had to give up its national charter and become a state bank.
The combined entity with capital of $184,000,000 became operating in May 1929. William C. Potter, president of the Guaranty Trust Co. became president of the combined institution.
James S. Alexander, chairman of the board of the Bank of Commerce, became chairman of the board of the new company.
In 1959, Guaranty Trust merged with
J.P. Morgan & Co. Although Guaranty Trust was nearly four times the size of Morgan, the Morgan executives took over management of the combined entity
Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York.
Ten years after the merger, Morgan Guaranty established a bank holding company called J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated, but continued to operate as Morgan Guaranty through the 1980s before beginning to migrate back to use of the J.P. Morgan brand. In 1988, the company once again began operating exclusively as J.P. Morgan & Co. The firm merged with
Chase Manhattan Bank
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fina ...
in 2001 to form
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
.
References
;Notes
;Sources
External links
National Bank of Commerce in New York, 1912-1916Benjamin Newton Duke papers
National Bank of Commerce, New-Yorkat the
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Bank of Commerce in New York
Banks based in New York City
Defunct banks of the United States
1839 establishments in New York (state)
1929 disestablishments in New York (state)