Dillon, Read
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dillon, Read & Co. was an
investment bank Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
based in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. In 1991, it was acquired by
Barings Bank Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member ...
and, in 1997, it was acquired by
Swiss Bank Corporation Swiss Bank Corporation was a Swiss investment bank and financial services company located in Switzerland. Prior to its merger, the bank was the third largest in Switzerland with over CHF300 billion of assets and CHF11.7 billion of equ ...
, which was in turn acquired by UBS in 1998.


History


Carpenter & Vermilye

Dillon Read traces its roots to 1832 with the founding of the Wall Street brokerage firm Carpenter & Vermilye by Col. Washington Romeyn Vermilye, George Carpenter, and William Montgomery Vermilye. The firm was notable for selling
war bonds War bonds (sometimes referred to as Victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are a ...
during the U.S. Civil War.


Dillon, Read & Co.

In 1905, it was renamed after its principal partner, William A. Read. In 1921, it was renamed as Dillon, Read & Co. to include partner
Clarence Dillon Clarence Dillon (September 27, 1882 – April 14, 1979) was an American financier, and namesake of Dillon, Read & Co., an investment bank. In 1957, Fortune Magazine listed Dillon as one of the richest men in the United States, with a fortune then ...
. The firm underwrote bonds issued by New York City and underwrote stocks and bonds of railroads and other companies. In 1921, the firm managed the rescue of faltering
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, ...
. In 1925, it engineered the buyout of
Dodge Brothers Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Ply ...
and the sale of the company to Chrysler in 1928. In the 1930, it underwrote foreign bonds and arranged financing for the
petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The large ...
. In 1937, it underwrote the bonds used to finance the
Triborough Bridge The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (RFK Bridge; formerly known and still commonly referred to as the Triborough Bridge) is a complex of bridges and elevated expressway viaducts in New York City. The bridges link the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, a ...
.
C. Douglas Dillon Clarence Douglas Dillon (born Clarence Douglass Dillon; August 21, 1909January 10, 2003) was an American diplomat and politician, who served as U.S. Ambassador to France (1953–1957) and as the 57th Secretary of the Treasury (1961–1965). He w ...
, the son of Dillon Read co-founder
Clarence Dillon Clarence Dillon (September 27, 1882 – April 14, 1979) was an American financier, and namesake of Dillon, Read & Co., an investment bank. In 1957, Fortune Magazine listed Dillon as one of the richest men in the United States, with a fortune then ...
, served as chairman of the company before serving as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
and as U.S. Undersecretary of State and U.S. Ambassador to France under Dwight Eisenhower. Nicholas F. Brady served as Chairman from 1970 to 1982, before serving as a United States Senator from New Jersey and as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. In July 1986, the company was sold by its 35 partners to
The Travelers Companies The Travelers Companies, Inc., commonly known as Travelers, is an American insurance company. It is the second-largest writer of U.S. commercial property casualty insurance, and the sixth-largest writer of U.S. personal insurance through indepen ...
for $157.5 million, which was initiated when the Bechtel family cashed out its 30% holding in February, forcing the partnership to sell to Travelers to increase their pool of capital which had been depleted by $25 million. The corporate office was located at 535 Madison Ave in New York City. The downtown office was located at 120 Wall street in New York City.


Barings and Swiss Bank

In 1991, the company was sold to Barings for $122 million. Barings went bankrupt and in 1995, management bought back the firm. In 1997, the company was sold to Swiss Bank Corporation in 1997 and merged with S. G. Warburg & Co., to become Warburg Dillon Read. In 1998, it became part of UBS when Swiss Bank Corporation merged with Union Bank of Switzerland to become UBS.


Dillon Read Capital Management

The Dillon Read name was dropped by 2000. In June 2005, UBS established Dillon Read Capital Management (DRCM), led by former
UBS Investment Bank UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...
head John P. Costas. On May 3, 2007, UBS announced the closure of Dillon Read Capital Management. After profits of $1.2 billion in 2006, the division lost 150 million Swiss Francs in the first quarter of 2007, primarily due to bets on the sub-prime mortgage industry in the United States. The assets under management were transferred into UBS's main asset management business. The division had raised $1.2 billion in assets under management. In her 2008 book, ''UBS: les dessous d'un scandale'', Myret Zaki asserted that had UBS listened to Dillon Read Management, UBS could have limited its losses from the subprime mortgage crisis to $500 million instead of $40 billion.


Further reading

* * *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Read and Co. UBS Defunct financial services companies of the United States Banks established in 1924 Banks disestablished in 1997 Former investment banks of the United States