Chemical Bank

Chemical Bank
IndustryBank holding company
Founded1824; 200 years ago (1824)
FounderBalthazar P. Melick
Defunct1996 (1996)
FateAcquired Chase Bank in 1996 and assumed the Chase name
SuccessorJPMorgan Chase
HeadquartersNew York City
Key people
Walter V. Shipley (chairman, CEO)
William B. Harrison Jr. (vice chairman)
John Francis McGillicuddy (director)
ProductsFinancial services
Total assetsIncrease $182.9 billion (1995)
Number of employees
39,078 (1995)
Footnotes / references
[1]

Chemical Bank, headquartered in New York City, was the principal operating subsidiary of Chemical Banking Corporation, a bank holding company. In 1996, it acquired Chase Bank, adopted the Chase name, and became the largest bank in the United States. Prior to the 1996 merger, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees. In addition to operations in the U.S., it had a major presence in Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It was active in both corporate banking as well as retail banking as well as investment banking and underwriting corporate bonds and equity.[1]

The bank was founded in 1824 as a subsidiary of the New York Chemical Manufacturing Company by Balthazar P. Melick and others; the manufacturing operations were sold by 1851. Major acquisitions by the bank included Corn Exchange Bank in 1954, Texas Commerce Bank in 1987, and Manufacturers Hanover in 1991. The bank converted to the holding company format in 1968.

  1. ^ a b "Chemical Banking Corp. SEC Form 10-K Annual Report for the Year Ended December 31, 1995". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.