Western National Bank of New York

National Bank of Commerce in New York

Formerly	Bank of Commerce in New York
Industry	Banking
Founded	1839 (1839)
Founders	Isaac Carow Pelatiah Perit Charles Handy Russell Jonathan Sturges Samuel Ward Stephen Whitney
Defunct	Template:End date and age
Fate	Integrated into Guaranty Trust Company of New York
Successor	Morgan Guaranty Trust Company J.P. Morgan & Co. JPMorgan Chase
Headquarters	Manhattan, New York , United States
Key people	Robert Lenox Kennedy Joseph C. Hendrix John Austin Stevens

The National Bank of Commerce in New York was a prominent national bank headquartered in New York City that eventually merged with the Guaranty Trust Company of New York. This institution later evolved into the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, a forerunner of J.P. Morgan & Co..

History

Originally chartered as the Bank of Commerce on January 1, 1839, the bank commenced accepting deposits on April 3, 1839, initially conducting operations from the basement of the Merchants' Exchange. It participated by subscribing $500,000 toward a New York State loan aimed at expanding the Erie Canal. The bank’s authorized capital stock was set at $5,000,000, with $1,505,000 subscribed by its founders and the remainder offered to the public. The first individual to serve as president was Samuel Ward associated with Prime, Ward & King.

At its first annual shareholders meeting in May 1839, attendance reached 565 stockholders. The initial board of directors comprised notable figures including James Brown, Isaac Carow, Archibald Gracie, and James Kent, among others. Following Ward’s passing in November 1839, leadership passed to John Austin Stevens, who assumed the presidency.

By the enactment of the National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864, the Bank of Commerce had grown to become the largest banking institution in the United States. In 1865, dry goods merchant Charles Handy Russell took over as president succeeding Stevens, coinciding with the bank’s reorganization as the National Bank of Commerce of New York. Robert Lenox Kennedy, who had joined as a director in 1859, served as president from 1868 until 1878 before transitioning to vice-president under his successor Henry F. Vail, co-founder with Gazaway Bugg Lamar of the Bank of the Republic.

Merger with National Union Bank

In 1900, the National Bank of Commerce expanded by acquiring the National Union Bank of New York, which had been established in 1893 by directors connected to the New York Guaranty and Indemnity Company and its successor entity, the Guaranty Trust. This bank also maintained ties to the Mutual Life Insurance Company. Leadership of National Union from its founding until the merger was held by Joseph C. Hendrix, a former U.S. Representative from New York; following consolidation, he assumed presidency of the combined institution. Meanwhile, long-serving vice president J. Pierpont Morgan continued his role within the merged organization.

The union restored capital stock to $10,000,000 after it had previously been reduced to $5,000,000. This consolidation also ensured continuity in leadership following the retirement of W. W. Sherman, during which time William C. Duvall had been acting president.

Merger with Western National Bank

In October 1903, the institution expanded by acquiring the Western National Bank of the United States, which had been established earlier that year through the union of the larger Western National Bank of New York (connected to Equitable Life) and the smaller National Bank of the United States in New York (affiliated with Mutual Life Insurance and Morton Trust). Following this merger, Valentine P. Snyder, who was president of Western National, assumed leadership of the combined bank, while J. Pierpont Morgan took on the role of First Vice President.

The newly formed bank possessed $25 million in capital, a surplus of $10 million, and net deposits estimated at $120 million. The consolidation process included transferring $16 million in cash—of which $12 million was gold—and $67 million in securities between Manhattan buildings.

In 1911, James S. Alexander replaced Snyder as president; concurrently, Paul Warburg joined the board as director, succeeding Jacob H. Schiff. By 1923, Alexander advanced to chairman of the board,<ref> while Stevenson E. Ward took over the presidency.

Merger with Guaranty Trust

In 1929, following the merger of Guaranty Trust and the National Bank of Commerce of New York, the bank integrated into the $2 billion Guaranty Trust Company of New York. Spearheaded by Myron C. Taylor, chairman of U.S. Steel's finance committee, this consolidation created the largest banking institution in the United States by combining Guaranty’s prominent trust services with Commerce’s broad commercial banking network. Prior to finalizing the merger, the Bank of Commerce surrendered its national charter to convert into a state-chartered bank. The unified organization commenced operations in May 1929 with capital totaling $184 million. William C. Potter, then president of Guaranty Trust, became president of the merged entity, while James S. Alexander, formerly chairman at Bank of Commerce, assumed the role of board chairman.

In 1959, Guaranty Trust merged with J.P. Morgan & Co.. Although Guaranty Trust was nearly quadruple in size, leadership roles were assumed by Morgan executives within the newly formed Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York. Ten years later, this firm established a holding company named J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated but continued using the Morgan Guaranty brand through the 1980s before fully reverting to J.P. Morgan & Co. in 1988. Ultimately, this entity combined with Chase Manhattan Bank in 2001 to create what is now known as JPMorgan Chase.