Back Bank of North America Czech Bank of North America German Banco de Norteamérica Spanish Banque de l'Amérique du Nord French Bank of North America Italian Banco da América do Norte Portuguese Банк Северной Америки Russian Банк Північної Америки Ukrainian 北美银行 Chinese
 Bank of North America's original location at 307 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia | |
| Company type |
|
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | December 31, 1781, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Founders | Robert Morris, Alexander Hamilton, William Bingham, and others |
| Fate | Merger |
| Successor |
|
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people |
|
The Bank of North America was the first chartered bank in the United States, and served as the country's first de facto central bank.[1] It was chartered by the Congress of the Confederation on May 26, 1781, and opened in Philadelphia on January 7, 1782.[2][3][4]
The bank's founding was based on a plan presented by Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris on May 17, 1781,[5] including recommendations by Revolutionary-era Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, who was appointed the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury by George Washington. Although Hamilton later noted the bank's "essential" contribution to the American Revolutionary War, the Pennsylvania government objected to its privileges and reincorporated it under state law, making it unsuitable as a national bank under the U.S. Constitution. Congress instead chartered the First Bank of the United States, a new bank, in 1791, while the Bank of North America continued as a private concern.
- ^ Markham, Jerry W. (2002). A Financial History of the United States. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe. p. 87. ISBN 978-0765607300. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
- ^ Lewis, Lawrence Jr. (1882). A History of the Bank of North America, the First Bank Chartered in the United States. J. B. Lippincott & Co. pp. 28, 35.
- ^ Smith, Robert F. "Bank of North America". Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
- ^ Michener, John H. (1906). The Bank of North America, Philadelphia, a national bank, founded 1781. New York: R. G. Cooke, Inc. p. 37. HG21613.P54. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
- ^ "Establishing a National Bank". Journals of the Continental Congress. 20. U.S. Government Printing Office: 546–549. 1912. Retrieved March 17, 2016.