Emigrant Bank
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking, Financial services |
| Founded | 1850 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Key people | Howard Milstein (Chairman, President, and CEO) |
| Products | Banking services, online banking (Emigrant Direct, Dollar Savings Direct) |
Emigrant Bank—previously known as Emigrant Savings Bank—is a privately held financial institution based in the United States. In 2012, it was recognized as the ninth-largest U.S. bank under private ownership, managing assets totaling $8.1 billion. By June 2021, the bank's assets amounted to $5.75 billion, ranking it 244th among American banks by asset volume. Emigrant Bank also operates various online-only branches, such as Emigrant Direct and Dollar Savings Direct.
History
Established in 1850 by eighteen members affiliated with the Irish Emigrant Society and supported by Archbishop John Hughes, the bank was created to cater specifically to the Irish population in New York City. Its main office was situated at 49 Chambers Street in Manhattan.
The institution preserved comprehensive documentation of Irish immigrants arriving in the United States, which was eventually donated to the New York Public Library and has since become a valuable resource for genealogical studies. Beyond serving Irish immigrants, the bank extended its services to various immigrant communities from Eastern and Northern Europe. After experiencing several years of financial setbacks, it transitioned from a mutual savings bank to a stock savings bank in 1986.
On September 10, 2003, Emigrant Bank collaborated with The Courtney Group, a private equity firm, to acquire Boylan Bottling Company. This acquisition marked Emigrant’s initial venture into the beverage industry and expanded its presence into New Jersey, where Boylan was based in Teterboro. Following this transaction, Val Stalowir, an executive from Emigrant Capital, joined Boylan’s board of directors.
Since 2004, Howard Milstein, who serves as chairman, president, and CEO of New York Private Bank & Trust—the holding company for Emigrant Bank—has been at the helm of the institution.
In response to the 2008 financial crisis, Emigrant Bank divested 30 of its branches to Apple Bank in 2012 but continued operating two branches located in midtown Manhattan and Ossining, New York.
In 2016, a jury in Brooklyn found Emigrant Bank responsible for discriminatory lending practices that involved charging minority borrowers predatory mortgage interest rates as high as 18 percent.