Irving Trust was an American
commercial bank headquartered in
New York City that operated between 1851 and 1988 when it was acquired by
Bank of New York. From 1965, the bank was the principal subsidiary of the Irving Bank Corporation.
Between 1913 and 1931, its headquarters was in the
Woolworth Building; after 1931, until it was acquired by Bank of New York, its headquarters was located at
1 Wall Street, at what is now known as the BNY Mellon Building.
History
The bank had its origins in 1851, when the Irving Bank of the City of New York was founded. Since there was not yet a federal currency, each bank issued its own paper for use. The firm was named after
Washington Irving, an author, diplomat, and lawyer who had gained an international reputation as America's first man of letters. His portrait appeared on the bank's notes.
In June 1865, it converted from a state bank to a bank chartered under the
National Bank Act of 1863, and became the Irving National Bank of New York. In 1907, after a merger, it became the Irving National Exchange Bank of New York, changing its name to the Irving National Bank in 1912.[1] In 1918, it acquired, by merger, the Market and Fulton National Bank of New York, and in 1919, the Sherman National Bank of New York and the National City Bank of Brooklyn.[2] In 1922, it merged with the Columbia Trust Company, a New York State-chartered bank, creating the Irving Bank and Trust Company.[3][1] Later, in 1926, it acquired by merger the American Exchange-Pacific Bank, and changed its name to the American Exchange Irving Trust Company.[1][4] Finally, in 1929, it changed its name to the Irving Trust Company, the name under which it was known until 1989.
In 1922, Irving Trust opened an account with
Vnesheconombank, now known as
VEB, enabling the bank to conduct transactions with
Russia and later the
Soviet Union.[6]
In 1983, the Irving Trust had 13 branches in New York and was primarily a wholesale bank working with mid- and large-sized corporations and banks. It also had offices around the world, allowing for their claim that the sun never set on the Irving.
In 1986,
Natasha Kagalovsky (
née Gurfinkel) became an employee as head of the department handling accounts with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.[12][13]
Merged into Bank of New York
On October 7, 1988, the Irving Trust board signed an agreement to merge with
Bank of New York ending a yearlong battle as Bank of New York engineered a
hostile takeover. At the time of the merger, the combined banks became the
United States' 12th largest bank with asset of $42 billion.[14] During that year, Irving had been trying to participate in a friendly merger with
Banca Commerciale Italiana.[15]
^The Russo-Iranian Bank (RIB) also known a Rusiranbank (
Russian: Русиранбанк) was established as the Russo-Persian Banking Office for Credit and Payment Services for Trade Between Iran and the USSR and Assistance to the Development of Iranian Agriculture and Industry (
Russian: Российско-персидское банковское управление по кредитным и платежным услугам для торговли между Ираном и СССР и содействие развитию сельского хозяйства и промышленности Ирана) in September 1923 in
Teheran by Iranian merchants and the Russo-Asian Joint-stock Company (
Russian: Русско-Азиатское Акционерное Общество) which was based in Moscow. It was formerly the Banque Russo-Persane also known as Ruspersbank (
Russian: Русперсбанк). Following the 21 February 1921 coup of the pro-British
Ahmad Shah Qajar by the pro-Moscow
Reza Khan, the
Russo-Persian Treaty of Friendship (1921) was signed on 26 February 1921 in Moscow. In 1923, the head of security service at RIB was the future
Shah of IranReza Shah.[8][9] In February 1932, the Russo-Persian Banking Office for Credit and Payment Services for Trade Between Iran and the USSR and Assistance to the Development of Iranian Agriculture and Industry changed its name to Bank Russo-Iran (Rusiranbank). In 1934, RIB was one of the largest banks in Iran and had an extensive network of branches throughout Iran. In 1938, 40% of Iran's trade was with the
Soviet Union and the Rusiranbank was pivotal. In 1954,
Vneshtorgbank held an 84% stake and
Gosbank held the remainder. Rusiranbank also had correspondent accounts with
Deutsche Bank and
Chase Manhattan.[7][10][11]
^Бутрин, Дмитрий (Butrin, Dmitry); Кваша, Максим (Kvasha, Maxim); Плешанова, Ольга (Pleshanova, Olga); Разумова, Мария (Razumova, Maria); Аскер-Заде, Наиля (Asker-Zade, Nailya) (18 May 2007).
"Дела давно минувших рублей: Против Bank of New York подан иск на $22,5 млрд" [Cases of long past rubles: Bank of New York filed a $ 22.5 billion lawsuit]. Kommersant. Archived from
the original on 20 May 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2021. http://www.compromat.ru/page_20751.htm Возобновление расследования о махинациях 90-х Reopening of the investigation into the machinations of the 90s{{
cite news}}: External link in |quote= (
help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)