January 13, 2005

1:19 PM

Why are there so many banks called First National Bank of ____? Is it just a convention, or is there a purpose/history behind it?
(I checked here, but it doesn't give a very satisfactory answer.)
posted by me3dia to (7 comments total)

There's the history of it here:
"...in 1864 as the National Banking Act. The idea was to develop a national banking system. The act created a new office, Comptroller of the Currency, housed in the Treasury, which chartered national banks. A national bank had to buy Treasury bonds equal to one-third of its capital, and could issue notes only in proportion to its Treasury bond holdings. All nationally chartered banks had to have the words "national" or the initials "n.a." in their title. You can identify some national banks just by name. The Chicago First National, The First National of Toledo, the First National of Fresno, and so on."
posted by milkrate at 1:26 PM on January 13, 2005

Ah-ha! Thanks, milkrate. What about the "First" though? Is it just a boast, or is there something more to it? You rarely see a Second National Bank of ___.

(Fifth Third Bank is named after the intersection of Fifth and Third Avenues in Columbus, OH, where the bank was founded.)
posted by me3dia at 1:40 PM on January 13, 2005

It may just be a status thing, they were the first in the region [state? city?] to step up to the plate and get the charter. It's probably better to name your bank something random than something that implies a lesser version of an existing bank. There are a few Second National Banks [more], they're just rarer.
posted by jessamyn at 2:10 PM on January 13, 2005

The Straight Dope did some interesting research called What Gives with Fifth Third Bank.
posted by icontemplate at 3:52 PM on January 13, 2005

OK -- but why "n.a." ?
posted by davidmsc at 7:21 PM on January 13, 2005

"n.a." = National Association (i.e. Citibank, NA; Mellon Bank, NA, etc)
posted by milkrate at 8:41 PM on January 13, 2005

Wow, icontemplate, people in Columbus have been claiming the Fifth & Third Aves. thing for quite awhile (there really is a 5/3 bank there). Interesting to find out it's a hoax!
posted by me3dia at 1:09 PM on January 14, 2005