Rainier Bancorporation was the
Seattle-based parent corporation of Rainier National Bank, a
Washington state bank with branches throughout the state. Rainier traced its roots back to the National Bank of Commerce, which was founded by Richard Holyoke in 1889. The name Rainier National Bank was adopted in 1974. Rainier Bancorp expanded into Alaska with the purchase of
Anchorage
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
's People's Bank & Trust in 1983 and into Oregon with the purchase of
Gresham's Mount Hood Security Bank in 1986,
expanding further in Oregon in 1986 with the government-assisted purchase of
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
's failed Lincoln Savings & Loan Association
(not related to the Californian thrift of the same named that failed in 1989).
After a brief bidding war with
First Bank System,
Rainier Bancorp. was acquired by
Security Pacific Corporation in 1987 for $1.15 billion in stock.
At the time of its acquisition, it was the second largest bank in the state. After the merger, Rainier Bancorporation was renamed Security Pacific Bancorporation Northwest, and Rainier National Bank was renamed Security Pacific Bank Washington.
Rainier Bank Alaska was renamed Security Pacific Bank Alaska.
Rainier Bank Oregon was merged into recently acquired Oregon Bank to form Security Pacific Bank Oregon.
In 1992, Security Pacific Bank merged with
San Francisco-based
BankAmerica (now called Bank of America), a deal that was at the time one of the largest bank mergers in history. Federal regulators, however, forced the divestiture of over half of the former Rainier Bank Washington state franchise (having been renamed Security Pacific Bank Washington, N.A. in 1989), as the combination of BankAmerica's
Seafirst subsidiary and Rainier would have given BankAmerica too large a share of the retail banking market in Washington state. While 82 branches were retained and consolidated with Seafirst, 38 were sold to West One Bancorp (now itself merged into
U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp (stylized as us bancorp) is an American bank holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and incorporated in Delaware. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, and is the fifth largest banking institution i ...
) and 48 to
KeyBank.
References
External links
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Defunct banks of the United States
Defunct companies based in Seattle
Banks established in 1889
Banks disestablished in 1987
1889 establishments in Washington (state)
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