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ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER
Abelman, Frayne, &Schwab
This Week in Intellectual Property History for the Week of July 25, 2011
On July 30, 1968, Bank Of America National Trust And Savings Association received a registration for their brand of banking services:
Strange as it may seem, the Bank of America began as the Bank of Italy (yes, it's true!).
It was founded in 1904 by Amedeo Giannini, who was born in San Jose, California in 1870 to Italian immigrants. Leaving school at age 13, he worked for 18 years in his step-father's produce business before becoming a partner. He sold his share of the profitable business in 1901. He then began the Bank of Italy in a converted saloon in San Francisco on October 17, 1904, lending money he controlled as executor of his father-in-law's estate.
When an earthquake struck in 1906, Giannini broke ranks with his fellow bankers, many of whom wanted area banks to remain shut to sort out the damage. Giannini quickly set up shop on the docks near San Francisco's North Beach. With a wooden plank straddling two barrels for a desk, he began to extend credit "on a face and a signature" to small businesses and individuals in need of money to rebuild their lives. His actions spurred the city's redevelopment.
Word quickly spread about his service and by 1916 he had several branches. His liberal loan policies were his trademark as the bank continued to expand throughout California, creating the first statewide branch-banking system in the country. He created the Transamerica Corp. holding company in 1928; in 1930 he established the Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association by combining the Bank of Italy with the Bank of America of California, which he had created in 1927 by consolidating other bank branches. The new Bank of America weathered the Depression to become the largest bank in the United States, and the largest privately owned bank in the world. Giannini's lending policies encouraged the development of both California's agricultural industry and the motion picture industry.
Indeed, when Walt Disney ran $2 million over budget on Snow White, Giannini stepped in with a loan.
Among its many innovations, Bank of America pioneered the bank credit card. Its BankAmericard, was the predecessor of today's VISA credit card.
