The
Bank of America, Los Angeles was established in 1923 by
Orra E. MonnetteOrra Eugene Monnette was an attorney, author and banker. Monnette was also the Founder of the Bank of America, L.A., but his contribution to the organization is often overlooked in its corporate history....
, emerging from a series of mergers between Los Angeles based banks between 1909 and 1923. It ultimately merged with the
Bank of Italy (USA)The Bank of Italy was founded in San Francisco, California, USA, in 1904 by Amadeo Giannini. It grew by a branch banking strategy to become the Bank of America, the world's largest commercial bank with 493 branches in California and assets of $5 billion in 1945.The bank was established to serve...
to form the
Bank of AmericaBank of America Corporation , based in Charlotte, North Carolina is one of the largest financial services companies, largest bank by assets, largest commercial bank by deposits and is the second largest by market capitalization in the United States. The company holds 12.2% of all U.S. deposits...
.
The foundation was the
Los AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
based
American National Bank of Los Angeles (ANB) which Monnette purchased controlling interest using profits from his father's silver mine in
TonopahTonopah may refer to:* Tonopah, Arizona, United States* Tonopah, Nevada, United States* Tonopah Test Range, Nevada, United States...
,
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
. In 1909, ANB was merged into
Citizens Trust and Savings Bank; in 1911, Monnette purchased the
Broadway Bank and Trust Company, which when merged with the family’s other holdings formed the
Citizens Bank and Trust Company.
In 1923, Citizens Bank and Trust Company was renamed Bank of America, Los Angeles. Monnette’s intention was to build capital for national expansion; however in 1928 Monnette was approached by
Amadeo GianniniAmadeo Pietro Giannini , born in San Jose, California, was the Italian American founder of Bank of America.-Biography:Giannini's parents were Italian immigrants to the United States, originally from near Genoa, Liguria. He attended Heald College, in San Francisco, California...
, founder of the
Bank of ItalyThe Bank of Italy was founded in San Francisco, California, USA, in 1904 by Amadeo Giannini. It grew by a branch banking strategy to become the Bank of America, the world's largest commercial bank with 493 branches in California and assets of $5 billion in 1945.The bank was established to serve...
(San Francisco,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
), who was interested in pursuing a merger with BoA. The resulting Bank of America emerged prior to the stock market crash of 1929.