COMPANY·HISTORIES
NAIC 523110

Investment Banking

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

39companies1791–2000founding years39still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedFleetBoston Financial Corporation
1791
FoundedCitigroup Inc.
1812
FoundedAustralia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited
1835
FoundedBanknorth Group, Inc.
1852
FoundedReuters Group PLC
1865
FoundedDresdner Bank A.G.
1872
FoundedThe Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
1885
FoundedGrupo Financiero Banorte, S.A. de C.V.
1899
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedUBS AG
1912
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedBank Hapoalim B.M.
1921
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedDaiwa Securities Group Inc.
1943
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedThe Toronto-Dominion Bank
1955
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
FoundedDresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein
1961
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedJ.P. Morgan Chase & Co.FoundedWells Fargo & Company
1968
FoundedThe Ziegler Companies, Inc.
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedBanco Comercial Português, SA
1985
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
FoundedNordea AB
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

FleetBoston Financial Corporation →
Active · founded 1791
FleetBoston Financial Corporation is the eighth largest bank in the United States and the largest in New England, with…
N M Rothschild & Sons Limited →
Active · founded 1799 · United Kingdom
United Kingdom banker N M Rothschild & Sons Ltd.
Citigroup Inc. →
Active · founded 1812
The largest financial services company in the world, with assets in excess of $1 trillion, Citigroup Inc.
The Bank of Nova Scotia →
Active · founded 1832 · Canada
The Bank of Nova Scotia, the second oldest bank in Canada, was the second largest Canadian bank in 2003 in term of…
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited →
Active · founded 1835 · Australia
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) is the second largest of the "Big Four" banks in Australia,…
Lazard LLC →
Active · founded 1848 · France
Lazard LLC is one of the last of the world's leading private investment banking firms, and one of the world's top ten…
Banknorth Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1852
One of the 30 largest commercial banking companies in the United States, Banknorth Group, Inc.
Credit Suisse Group →
Active · founded 1856 · Switzerland
Credit Suisse Group, which began as a commercial bank in 1856, at a time when Switzerland was first embracing the…
Reuters Group PLC →
Active · founded 1865 · United Kingdom
Reuters Group PLC has from its inception employed any and all means at its disposal to achieve timely dissemination of…
HVB Group →
Active · founded 1869 · Germany
Early 1920s:BV allies itself with Bayerische Handelsbank AG.
Dresdner Bank A.G. →
Active · founded 1872 · Germany
The third largest bank in Germany and one of the leading international banks in Europe, Dresdner Bank A.G.
Close Brothers Group plc →
Active · founded 1878 · United Kingdom
Small but steady Close Brothers plc is the last independent merchant bank in the United Kingdom.
Grupo Financiero Banamex S.A. →
Active · founded 1884 · Mexico
Grupo Financiero Banamex S.A.
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. →
Active · founded 1885
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.--the company changed its name from Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Allianz AG →
Active · founded 1890 · Germany
Once known primarily as a German insurance company, Allianz AG has grown to become one of the world's leading financial…
Grupo Financiero Banorte, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1899 · Mexico
Grupo Financiero Banorte, S.A.
Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M. →
Active · founded 1902 · Israel
Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M., Israel's second-largest bank, has its origins in the modern Zionist movement of the late…
UBS AG →
Active · founded 1912 · Switzerland
UBS AG was formed from the 1998 megamerger of Swiss Bank Corporation and Union Bank of Switzerland.
Singer & Friedlander Group plc →
Active · founded 1920 · United Kingdom
Singer & Friedlander Group plc is one of the United Kingdom's last remaining independent merchant banks, providing…
Bank Hapoalim B.M. →
Active · founded 1921 · Israel
Bank Hapoalim B.M.
Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer S.A. →
Active · founded 1932 · Mexico
Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer S.A.
Daiwa Securities Group Inc. →
Active · founded 1943 · Japan
Daiwa Securities Group Inc.--formerly known as Daiwa Securities Co.
Cazenove Group plc →
Active · founded 1954 · United Kingdom
Cazenove Group plc is one of the United Kingdom's oldest and most venerable investment bankers, providing capital…
The Toronto-Dominion Bank →
Active · founded 1955 · Canada
The Toronto-Dominion Bank (commonly called TD Bank) ranks as Canada's second largest bank in terms of assets, trailing…
Commerzbank A.G. →
Active · founded 1958 · Germany
Commerzbank A.G.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce →
Active · founded 1961 · Canada
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is Canada's third largest bank, trailing only Royal Bank of Canada and…
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein →
Active · founded 1961 · United Kingdom
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) operates as the investment banking arm of Germany's Dresdner Bank AG.
Ryan Beck & Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1965
Ryan Beck & Co., Inc.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. →
Active · founded 1968
J.P.
Union Financière de France Banque SA →
Active · founded 1968 · France
Union Financière de France Banque SA (UFF Banque) is an asset manager with a difference.
Wells Fargo & Company →
Active · founded 1968
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company, ranking as the seventh largest bank holding company…
Raymond James Financial Inc. →
Active · founded 1969
Raymond James Financial Inc., a diversified financial services company, earned national recognition from a mixture of…
The Ziegler Companies, Inc. →
Active · founded 1971
The Ziegler Companies, Inc.
E*Trade Financial Corporation →
Active · founded 1982
E*Trade Financial Corporation operates as a diversified financial services holding company.
Banco Comercial Português, SA →
Active · founded 1985 · Portugal
Banco Comercial Português, SA (BCP) is Portugal's largest financial institution.
Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. →
Active · founded 1985
Bear Stearns Companies, Inc., the holding company that owns Bear, Stearns & Company, Inc., was created on October 29,…
Nordea AB →
Active · founded 1997 · Sweden
First off the starting block among pan-European banking mergers--a trend expected to boom in the early years of the…
E.On AG →
Active · founded 2000 · Germany
E.On AG is the largest listed power generation company in Europe.
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. →
Active · founded 2000 · Argentina
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A.
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