Giannini, << jahn NEE nee, >> Amadeo Peter (1870-1949), an American businessman, built one of the largest commercial banking empires in the United States. He began with the Bank of Italy in San Francisco in 1904. The bank catered mainly to smaller customers—such as immigrant laborers and fruit growers in California—that other banks would not serve. As the Bank of Italy grew, Giannini bought a number of other banks and created a large banking system. The system, eventually named the Bank of America, established branches throughout the United States and in other parts of the world.
Giannini was born in San Jose on May 6, 1870. As a teen-ager, he worked at his stepfather’s wholesale produce business. He became a partner in the business at the age of 19. In 1902, Giannini began working at a small bank in San Francisco’s Italian district. Two years later, he, along with other businessmen, established the Bank of Italy. In 1906, after a severe earthquake left much of San Francisco in ruins, Giannini protected the bank’s money and securities from the subsequent fire by hiding them in a vegetable wagon. The bank survived the disaster and, in the following years, played a major role in helping San Francisco rebuild.
In 1909, Giannini began buying small banks and converting them into branches of the Bank of Italy. As the number of banks grew, he organized them into Bancitaly Corporation in 1919 and into Transamerica Corporation in 1928. Giannini’s system of banks became the Bank of America in 1930. Giannini died on June 3, 1949. At the time of his death, the Bank of America was the largest commercial bank in the world.
