Seafirst Bank
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
 |
Seafirst Corporation was a bank holding company based in Seattle, Washington. It was acquired by BankAmerica Corp. in 1983, when Seafirst was at risk of seizure by the federal government after becoming insolvent due to a series of bad loans to the oil industry. The corporation and its primary subsidiary, Seattle-First National Bank, maintained the Seafirst Bank name and brand identity.
During the 1980s and much of the 1990s Seafirst Bank maintained a high degree of autonomy and reigned as the largest bank in Washington. Following the 1998 merger of BankAmerica Corp. and NationsBank Corp. into the modern Bank of America Corporation, Seafirst finally assumed the Bank of America brand in 2000.
Formed on November 11, 1929, from the merger of Seattle's three largest banks, the First National Bank Group, the Dexter Horton National Bank (founded 1870 by Dexter Horton), and Seattle National Bank, 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.
[edit] References
- The Bankoscope: Staff Publication of the Seattle-First National Bank. Special Anniversary Issue, June 1960, Volume XVIII. Seattle: Seattle-First National Bank, 1960.
