36 Facts About Chemical Bank

Chemical Bank was a bank with headquarters in New York City from 1824 until 1996.

In 1996, Chemical acquired Chase Manhattan Corporation in a merger valued at $10 billion to create the largest financial institution in the United States.

Chemical Bank opened its first offices at 216 Broadway in Downtown New York in 1824 at the corner of Ann Street.

Chemical Bank bought additional land next to its building in 1879 and 1887 but its offices remained modest through the start of the 20th century.

Under Chairman Donald Platten, Chemical Bank's headquarters was to move to 277 Park Avenue in 1979.

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Mason, who would later be referred to as "the father of the Chemical Bank" and was one of the richest merchants of his day in New York, succeeded Baltus Melick in 1831.

Isaac Jones and later his cousin John Quentin Jones would lead Chemical Bank, both serving as president, across the next forty years through 1878.

Chemical Bank sold all remaining inventories from the chemical division as well as the corresponding real-estate holdings by 1851.

Chemical's decision was highly unpopular among its fellow banks and led to the bank's temporary suspension from the New York Clearing House, of which Chemical was a charter member.

Chemical Bank frequently used the refrain "Good as gold then, good as gold today" in advertisements from the 1860s well into the 20th century.

Unlike many of its peers, Chemical had been reluctant to expand into securities and other businesses and had not paid interest on bank accounts.

In 1917, Chemical named a new president of the bank, Herbert Twitchell, after the death of Joseph B Martindale.

Twitchell initiated a major turnaround of Chemical Bank, setting up a trust business and reversing Chemical Bank's policy of not paying interest on cash accounts.

In 1920, Chemical completed its first major acquisition, merging with Citizens National Bank.

In 1923, Chemical Bank established its first branch and by the end of the 1920s had opened a dozen branches in Manhattan and Brooklyn as well as a branch in London, its first international presence.

Under Helm, Chemical completed a series of large mergers in the late 1940s and early 1950s that again made the bank among the largest in the US In 1947, Chemical merged with Continental Bank and Trust Company.

The merger with the Corn Exchange Bank added 98 additional branches to Chemical's system largely in the New York City and $774 million in deposits.

At the time of the merger, Chemical Corn was the fourth largest bank in New York and New York Trust was the ninth largest bank and the merger created the third largest bank in New York, and the fourth largest in the US with $3.

In 1968, Chemical reorganized itself as a bank holding company, Chemical New York Corporation, which allowed for more rapid expansion.

However, by the late 1960s and early 1970s, Chemical Bank was focused on building its international business.

In 1975, Chemical acquired Security National Bank, which had a branch network on Long Island.

Ultimately Chemical Bank contributed $300 million to shore Texas Commerce as it continued to suffer losses.

Also in 1986, Chemical agreed to a merger with New Jersey-based Horizon Bancorp, although the merger was not completed until 1989, due again to interstate banking rules.

Additionally, in 1984, Chemical Bank launched Chemical Bank Venture Partners to invest in private equity transactions alongside various financial sponsors.

In July 1991, Chemical Bank announced that it would acquire Manufacturers Hanover Corporation in a $135 billion merger transaction.

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Chemical Bank adopted Manufacturers Hanover's logo design and moved into its headquarters at 270 Park Avenue in New York.

In corporate banking, Manufacturers Hanover was better established with larger, blue-chip companies, whereas Chemical had been stronger with small- and medium-sized businesses.

Nationally, the combined Chemical Bank became one of the largest lenders to US companies and was arguably the leader in loan syndication globally.

Additionally, Chemical Bank took a leading role providing foreign exchange, interest rate and currency swaps, corporate finance services, cash management, corporate and institutional trust, trade services and funds transfer.

In 1996, Chemical Bank acquired Chase Manhattan Corporation in a merger valued at $10 billion to create the largest financial institution in the United States.

Chase, which at its height had been the largest bank in the US, had fallen to sixth, while Chemical was the third largest bank at the time of the merger.

Additionally, many of Chemical Bank's businesses remained intact through the various mergers.

On September 2,1969, Chemical Bank installed the first automated teller machine at its branch in Rockville Centre, New York.

In 1982, Chemical initiated the first personal computer based banking system when it launched a pilot electronic banking program called Pronto.

Chemical Bank had spent $20 million to develop the software for Pronto.

Pronto was an extension of other electronic banking services offered by Chemical that included a corporate cash-management system and its growing ATM network and was one of the largest early forays by a bank into home computer based banking.