Barnett Bank

Barnett Bank
Company type	Public company
Industry	Banking and financial services
Founded	7 May 1877; 149 years ago in Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Founder	William Boyd Barnett
Defunct	1997
Fate	Acquired by NationsBank
Headquarters	Jacksonville, United States
Area served	Florida, United States
Key people	William Boyd Barnett (founder and president), Bion Barnett (president), Hugh Jones (chairman), Charles Rice (CEO)
Products	Commercial banking services
Number of employees	6,800 (1997)

Barnett Bank was a prominent American financial institution based in Florida, established in 1877. It grew to become the state's largest commercial bank, operating over 600 branches and holding deposits totaling $41.2 billion. In 1997, it was acquired by NationsBank.

Establishment

William Boyd Barnett, initially a merchant and banker from Kansas, moved permanently to Jacksonville in 1877 after his wife's health showed improvement there. His youngest son, Bion Barnett, left the University of Kansas to join the family enterprise.

At that time, Jacksonville had a population below 10,000 and only three banks. On May 7, 1877, Barnett launched the Bank of Jacksonville with an initial capital of $43,000. William assumed the role of president while Bion worked as the bookkeeper. Although deposits were modest at $11,000 after one year, the bank built confidence through prudent management.

William Barnett laid out five fundamental business principles focusing on integrity in dealings, sustainable profitability, support for emerging entrepreneurs, honoring obligations, and maintaining cost control—principles that Bion later recognized as timeless business wisdom.

Development

A key moment occurred when Bion Barnett spoke with Henry L’Engle, Duval County's Tax Collector, who was dissatisfied with a $6.25 fee imposed by the county’s bank for transfers to New York City. Bion offered to waive this fee if Duval County placed its funds with the Bank of Jacksonville (BoJ), which spurred rapid expansion. Within a year, L’Engle became Florida’s Treasurer and moved state accounts to BoJ. The bank’s operating capital quickly surpassed $150,000, and the Barnetts obtained a National Charter under the National Bank Act, renaming it the National Bank of Jacksonville. By 1893, deposits had grown beyond $1 million.

20th Century Developments

Following the Great Fire of 1901 that devastated much of Jacksonville, the National Bank of Jacksonville was the sole local bank to resume operations. After William Boyd Barnett passed away in 1903, Bion renamed the institution Barnett National Bank as a tribute.

In 1926, the bank unveiled the Barnett National Bank Building, an 18-story skyscraper designed in the Chicago school architectural style; it remained the tallest structure in Jacksonville until 1954. The bank survived major economic downturns including the Great Depression, emerging more robust. Bion Barnett served as president until 1952 and continued as honorary chairman until his death at age 101 in 1958. By that time, Barnett Bank had earned the nickname "Florida's Bank" and expanded its presence throughout Florida via acquisitions over two decades.

Under Chairman Hugh Jones, Barnett was cautious about interstate banking mergers during the 1970s and 1980s. Although it acquired banks outside Florida beginning in Georgia, it retained their original names instead of extending the Barnett brand beyond its home state. This approach limited its market reach and resulted in weaker stock performance compared to competitors who pursued aggressive mergers and acquisitions. Nevertheless, Barnett invested in a new headquarters downtown Jacksonville—announced in 1987 and inaugurated in 1990. The 42-story Barnett Center became Jacksonville’s tallest building at that time and remains so as of 2019. Hugh Jones retired from his position in 1993.

Decline and Acquisition

For an extended period, Barnett stood as the sole prominent Jacksonville bank resisting takeover attempts by national banking giants. Atlantic National Bank was acquired by First Union between 1985 and 1987, while Florida National Bank merged with First Union in 1990. Initially, Barnett's CEO, Charles Rice, asserted there were no plans to sell the institution. Yet in 1997, shortly after completing treatment for alcoholism, Rice—who was then Jacksonville’s highest-paid executive at $4.5 million excluding stock options—put the company on the market. NationsBank from Charlotte submitted the top offer and completed the purchase. At that point, Barnett had a workforce of 6,800 employees and an annual payroll totaling $250 million.

After the acquisition, Rice was appointed chairman of NationsBank but was reassigned to vice chairman of corporate development less than a year later following NationsBank’s acquisition of Bank of America and subsequent rebranding under that name. Numerous former staff members remarked on the irony of this career shift. Rice retired in early 2001 and tragically passed away in a swimming pool accident in December 2008.

Community Engagement

During the 1980s, CEO Hugh Jones initiated a corporate social responsibility campaign that motivated all 1,000 employees to participate in volunteer activities within their communities. The Community Involvement Initiative resulted in employees contributing over 40,000 hours toward supporting local charitable organizations.

Trademark Conflict

Toward the end of 2000, financier Reid Mack registered Florida corporate names related to three former Barnett Bank subsidiaries: Barnett Mortgage Company, Barnett Lending Services, and Barnett Credit Services. Bank of America challenged his intellectual property claims over these names, eventually leading Mack to abandon his intentions to utilize them.

Preservation of Heritage

Following NationsBank’s acquisition of Barnett in December 1997, the Barnett Historic Preservation Foundation, Inc. was founded by former president Allen Lastinger along with other executives dedicated to safeguarding Barnett’s historical significance.

The foundation obtained extensive company archives comprising annual reports, investor presentations, press releases, correspondence, ledgers, videos, and account books. Additionally, it gathered contributions from former employees including photographs, scrapbooks, news clippings, marketing collateral, and employee newsletters. More than seventy interviews were conducted, generating approximately 3,000 pages of transcripts that form a comprehensive oral history archive.

In 2001, this collection was entrusted to the State Library and Archives of Florida, which also holds records from the Florida State Department of Banking and other defunct financial institutions.

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