Thomas H. McKittrick
Thomas Harrington McKittrick | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1889 |
| Died | 1970-01-21 Newton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Years active | 1916–1950s |
| Known for | President of the Bank for International Settlements (1940–1943) |
Thomas Harrington McKittrick (1889–1970) was a prominent American banker who served as president of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) during the period of World War II. His tenure was marked by contentious associations with Nazi Germany's Third Reich.
Career
After graduating from Harvard University in 1911, McKittrick joined National City Bank in 1916, where he played a key role in establishing its Geneva office. He participated in World War I as a member of the American Expeditionary Force and subsequently worked at Lee, Higginson & Co.
From 1940 until June 1943, McKittrick held the presidency of the BIS, operating under the leadership of chairs Otto Niemeyer and Ernst Weber. The BIS, created to promote international monetary cooperation, maintained a stance of neutrality throughout World War II. Following the outbreak of war in 1939, delegates from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom stopped attending its meetings. As conflict approached the BIS headquarters in Basel, McKittrick was the only member present at the annual meeting in May 1940.
McKittrick had a personal friendship with Allen Dulles, a US intelligence agent based in Switzerland during the war who later became Director of the CIA. This relationship kept him closely linked to American intelligence networks.
In 1941, Fortune magazine reported accusations that Germany had effectively gained control over the BIS by purchasing shares from other investors. McKittrick refuted allegations that the BIS enabled Axis powers to circumvent US foreign exchange restrictions. Nevertheless, the BIS accepted gold payments from the German Reichsbank, which were subsequently identified as stolen from Belgian and Dutch central banks. Despite these controversies, McKittrick was reappointed as BIS president in 1942.
Between 1946 and 1954, he served as senior vice president and director at Chase National Bank. During the 1950s, he led a survey mission for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in India. McKittrick passed away on January 21, 1970, in Newton, New Jersey.
Archives and records
- Thomas H. McKittrick papers housed at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School.