Union Securities Corporation was an independent

investment banking Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...

firm in existence from 1938 through its acquisition in 1956, although the name would survive through 1972. Union Securities was created in 1938 as a spinoff of the investment banking operations of J. & W. Seligman & Co. as a result of the Glass-Steagall Act. In 1956, the firm merged with Eastman Dillon & Co.Time Clock
TIME, Jul. 16, 1956 The Union Securities name remained until 1972, when what was then known as Eastman Dillon Union Securities merged with Blyth & Co. to form Blyth, Eastman Dillon & Co. That firm was later acquired by

Paine Webber PaineWebber & Co. was an American investment bank and stock brokerage firm that was acquired by the Swiss bank UBS in 2000. The company was founded in 1880 in Boston, Massachusetts, by William Alfred Paine and Wallace G. Webber. Operating with t ...

, which is today a part of

UBS UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...

History

The firm's predecessor, J. & W. Seligman & Co. was founded as an importing house by

Joseph Seligman Joseph Seligman (November 22, 1819 – April 25, 1880) was an American banker and businessman who founded J. & W. Seligman & Co. He was the patriarch of what became known as the Seligman family in USA and was subsequently related to the wealthy ...

and his brothers in New York in 1846. After the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

ended, the Seligman brothers decided to go into the banking business and a year later, Jesse Seligman went to

Frankfurt, Germany Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, to open a bank, where they were the first American banking firm to sell United States Government bonds in Europe. In the post-Civil War robber baron era, the firm invested heavily in railroad finance, in particular acting as broker of transactions engineered by

Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made hi ...

. Later, in 1876, the Seligmans joined forces with the

Vanderbilt family The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthr ...

to create public utilities in New York. In the early 20th century, the firm's predecessor backed the construction of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

. In this period, J.& W. Seligman & Co. Inc. underwrote the securities of a variety of companies, participating in stock and bond issues in the railroad and steel and wire industries, investments in Russia and Peru, the formation of the Standard Oil Company, and shipbuilding, bridges, bicycles, mining, and a variety of other industries. In 1910,

William C. Durant William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...

of the fledgling

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

Corporation gave control of his company's board to the Seligmans and Lee, Higginson & Co. in return for underwriting $15 million worth of corporate notes. However, by the 1930s, Seligman's investment banking business was declining. In 1938, in response to the Glass-Steagall Act, the firm spun off its securities underwriting business as Union Securities. The firm was formed with $1 million of cash and an additional $4 million of unfunded subscriptions. Union Securities established a successful track record during the 1940s and 1950s in as a

merchant banking A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commodi ...

firm, focusing on acquiring and restructuring companies. Union Securities merged with securities broker Eastman Dillon & Co. in 1956 to form Eastman Dillon Union Securities & Co. The combined firm had assets of more than $17 million and had completed more than $770 million in underwriting of corporate issues and municipal bonds since the beginning of 1955. An intermediate financing portion of the business was not sold in the merger, and that business was renamed Tri-Continental Financial Corporation.Tricontinental History - 1950's
. April 16, 2004 In 1979, Eastman Dillon (later Blyth, Eastman Dillon & Co.) was acquired by securities broker

, which in 2000 became part of financial conglomerate

UBS AG UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...

References

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J. & W. Seligman & Co. Inc.
Funding Universe {{UBS AG UBS Former investment banks of the United States Banks established in 1938 Financial services companies established in 1938 Banks disestablished in 1972 Financial services companies disestablished in 1972 Defunct financial services companies of the United States 1938 establishments in New York City 1972 disestablishments in New York (state)