The National Bank of Delaware (founded as the Bank of Delaware) was the first bank chartered in the U.S. state of Delaware.
Based in
Wilmington, the bank operated independently from 1795 to 1929, when it was merged into the
Security Trust Company
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
, also of Wilmington.
History
Independent operation
The bank was formally organized on June 1, 1795,
and received its charter on February 9, 1796, from the
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisla ...
with capital stock of $100,000. With
Joseph Tatnall Joseph Tatnall (1740–1813) was an American businessman, who was a prominent Quaker merchant, miller, and banker in Wilmington, Delaware.
Early life
The only son of Edward and Elizabeth (Pennock) Tatnall, Joseph was born in Wilmington on November ...
as president and John Hayes as cashier, it opened at Fourth and Market Streets on August 17. In 1816, the bank moved to a new building on the east corner of Sixth and Market Streets. The bank was issued a new charter in 1820, and doubled its stock's
par value
Par value, in finance and accounting, means stated value or face value. From this come the expressions at par (at the par value), over par (over par value) and under par (under par value).
Bonds
A Bond_(finance), bond selling at par is priced at 1 ...
by 1850.
On July 16, 1865, it received a national charter under the
National Banking Act
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 ...
, and was renamed the National Bank of Delaware at Wilmington, with capital of $110,000.
The charter was extended in 1885.
For 127 years, the bank served an account of the
E.I. Du Pont de Nemours company.
In 1929,
the bank merged with Security Trust Company (1885-1954).
The bank was then the nation's fourth-oldest, after the
Bank of North America
The Bank of North America was the first chartered bank in the United States, and served as the country's first ''de facto'' central bank. Chartered by the Congress of the Confederation on May 26, 1781, and opened in Philadelphia on January 7, 17 ...
(Philadelphia, 1784),
Bank of Massachusetts
BankBoston was a bank based in Boston, Massachusetts, which was created by the 1996 merger of Bank of Boston and BayBank. One of its predecessor banks started in 1784, but the merged BankBoston was short-lived, being acquired by Fleet Bank in 199 ...
(Boston, 1782),
Bank of New York
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Financ ...
(New York, 1784), and
Bank of Baltimore (Baltimore, 1795)).
Post-merger
In 1952, Security Trust Company merged with Equitable Trust Company, also of Wilmington, to become the Equitable Security Trust Company.
In 1958, the company revived the name "Bank of Delaware".
In 1989, the bank's holding company, Bank of Delaware Corporation, was acquired by
PNC Financial Corp. for $230 million in stock ($ today).
The Bank of Delaware held $1.8 billion in assets; PNC, then the nation's 12th-largest bank, held $36.6 billion.
Notes
{{reflist
See also
*
List of bank mergers in the United States
This is a partial list of major banking company mergers in the United States.
Table
Mergers chart
This 2012 chart shows some of the mergers noted above. Solid arrows point from the acquiring bank to the acquired one. The lines are labeled ...
History of Delaware
Defunct banks of the United States
Banks established in 1795
Defunct companies based in Delaware
Banks disestablished in 1929
1795 establishments in Delaware
1929 disestablishments in Delaware