14 Facts About Manhattan Company

Manhattan Company merged with Chase National Bank in 1955 to form the Chase Manhattan Bank.

Manhattan Company was formed in 1799 with the ostensible purpose of providing clean water to Lower Manhattan.

Manhattan Company raised $2 million, used one hundred thousand dollars for building a water supply system, and used the rest to start the bank.

Manhattan Company apparently did a poor job of supplying water, using hollowed out tree trunks for pipes and digging wells in congested areas where there was the danger of raw sewage mixing with the water.

Manhattan Company maintained a Water Committee which yearly assured, quite truthfully, that no requests for water service had been denied, and moreover conducted its meetings with a pitcher of the water at hand to ensure quality.

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In 1853, the Manhattan Company became one of the original 52 members of the New York Clearing House Association.

In 1928, the Manhattan Company increased its capital from $12,500,000 to $15,000,000 in connection with its acquisition of the Flushing National Bank, the Bayside National Bank, the Queens-Bellaire Bank, and the First National Bank of Whitestone.

In December 1928, the 129-year-old Bank of the Manhattan Company announced a joint affiliation with the International Acceptance Bank, which had been organized in 1921 by Paul Warburg.

In March 1929, the shareholders of the Bank of the Manhattan Company approved its plan to increase capital from $16,000,000 to $22,500,000 to acquire all of stock of the International Acceptance Bank, Inc After completion, J Stewart Baker remained president of the Bank of the Manhattan Company and became vice chairman of the board of International Acceptance.

In December 1929, the name Bank of the Manhattan Company was abandoned and the firm was transformed into a holding corporation under the name Manhattan Company while increasing its capital to $40,000,000 to allow for further acquisitions.

In October 1932, the directors of the Manhattan Company restored the company to its old status as a bank, absorbing or distributing to shareholders the various banking institutions which it controlled.

Some time the officers and directors of the Manhattan Company group have recognized that public opinion no longer favors the affiliation of a banking institution with other companies, and that conditions have so changed since 1929 that many of the advantages which at that time were inherent in the affiliation of various companies through a holding company have disappeared.

In 1996, Chase Manhattan was acquired by Chemical Bank, which retained the Chase name, to form what was then the largest bank holding company in the United States.

Standard Chartered Bank Limited continues to issue a credit card by the name of Manhattan Company, descending from its acquisition of the retail banking business in Hong Kong of Chase Manhattan Company in 2000.