National Bank of Delaware facts for kids

The National Bank of Delaware was a very important bank in the U.S. state of Delaware. It started as the Bank of Delaware in 1795. This bank was the first one to get a special permission, called a charter, to operate in Delaware. It was located in Wilmington. The bank worked on its own for a long time, from 1795 until 1929. Then, it joined with another company called the Security Trust Company, also from Wilmington.

The Bank's Story

Early Years and Growth

The Bank of Delaware officially began on June 1, 1795. It received its official charter, which is like a special license, on February 9, 1796. This license came from the Delaware General Assembly, which is Delaware's state legislature. The bank started with $100,000 in capital stock. This is the money that people invested to help the bank start.

The bank opened its doors on August 17 at Fourth and Market Streets. Joseph Tatnall was the first president, and John Hayes was the cashier. In 1816, the bank moved to a new building. This building was on the east corner of Sixth and Market Streets. The bank received a new charter in 1820. By 1850, the value of its stock had doubled.

On July 16, 1865, the bank received a national charter. This was under a law called the National Banking Act. Because of this, its name changed to the National Bank of Delaware at Wilmington. Its capital grew to $110,000. The bank's charter was extended again in 1885.

For 127 years, the bank handled the accounts for the E.I. Du Pont de Nemours company. This was a very important company.

Joining Other Banks

In 1929, the National Bank of Delaware joined with the Security Trust Company. At that time, the National Bank of Delaware was the fourth-oldest bank in the United States.

• The Bank of Massachusetts in Boston started in 1782.
• The Bank of New York in New York started in 1784.
• The Bank of North America in Philadelphia started in 1784.
• The Bank of Baltimore in Baltimore started in 1795.

After the merger, the bank continued to grow and change. In 1952, the Security Trust Company joined with another Wilmington bank. This was the Equitable Trust Company. Together, they became the Equitable Security Trust Company. Then, in 1958, the company decided to bring back the old name, "Bank of Delaware."

In 1989, a larger company bought the Bank of Delaware. This was PNC Financial Corp.. PNC bought the Bank of Delaware's parent company for $230 million in stock. At that time, the Bank of Delaware had $1.8 billion in assets. Assets are things the bank owns that have value. PNC was the 12th-largest bank in the country. It had $36.6 billion in assets.