Seafirst Corporation was an American

bank holding company A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') is often used to refer to these companies as well. United Stat ...

based in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, Washington. Its

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becau ...

ing subsidiary, Seafirst Bank, was the largest bank in Washington, with 235

branches A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...

and 497 ATMs across the state. Formed in 1929 via the merger of Seattle's three largest banks, Seafirst was acquired in 1983 by BankAmerica after posting huge losses from loans it purchased from the failed Penn Square Bank; the Seafirst brand was retired in 1999 after

NationsBank NationsBank was one of the largest banking corporations in the United States, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company named NationsBank was formed through the merger of several other banks in 1991, and prior to that had been through mul ...

acquired BankAmerica the previous year and subsequently implemented the

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

brand nationwide.

History

Seafirst Corporation was formed on November 11, 1929, from the merger of

's three largest banks, the First National Bank Group (founded 1882), the Dexter Horton National Bank (founded 1870 by

Dexter Horton Dexter Horton (1825 – 1904) was the founder of the first bank in the city of Seattle. Before his founding of the Bank of Dexter Horton in 1870 financial transactions were conducted by merchants. Dexter Horton was born in 1825 in Seneca Lake, New ...

), and

Seattle National Bank Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

(founded 1889), the bank was originally named First Seattle Dexter Horton National Bank. In 1931, the bank changed its name to First National Bank of Seattle, and again in 1935 to Seattle-First National Bank. In 1944, the bank won a case before the US Supreme Court, ''United States v. Seattle-First Nat. Bank'', by arguing that it did not have to pay a transfer tax when it converted from a state to a federally chartered bank. In 1970 it was using the name Firstbank. Seafirst Corporation was formed as a bank holding company for the Seattle-First National Bank on July 1, 1974.

1983 merger

In April 1983, San Francisco-based

BankAmerica Corporation The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The ba ...

announced the pending acquisition of the ailing Seafirst Corporation for $400 million in cash and stock, when Seafirst was at risk of seizure by the federal government after becoming

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company (debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

following the demise of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

-based Penn Square Bank. Seafirst had acquired a significant share of Penn Square's energy loan debt by participating in loans originated by that bank. Penn Square Bank collapsed in 1982, and the FDIC's decision to pay off only insured deposits rendered the participation assets valueless. The acquisition was completed in July 1983. In September 1983, the bank began to use the Seafirst Bank brand for advertising purposes while still keeping Seattle-First National Bank as the legal name for the bank. For the next quarter-century, Seafirst Bank maintained a high degree of autonomy and reigned as the largest bank in Washington. Following the 1998 merger of

BankAmerica Corp. The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The ba ...

and NationsBank Corp. into the modern Bank of America Corporation, Seafirst finally assumed the

brand on September 27, 1999.

References

External links

* (high resolution binaries; large file sizes) * {{Bank of America Bank of America legacy banks Defunct companies based in Seattle Defunct banks of the United States Banks established in 1929 Banks disestablished in 1999 1929 establishments in Washington (state)

History

1983 merger

See also

References

Further reading

External links