Mellon was opened in January 1870 by
Thomas Mellon and his sons
Andrew Mellon and
Richard B. Mellon, as T. Mellon & Sons' Bank. In 1902, the institution became Mellon National Bank. Mellon Bank was an important force in the
mass production revolution in the United States, especially in the
Midwest. The Mellon family using the bank as a proxy had direct involvement with founding the modern aluminium, oil, consumer electronics and financial industries.
Alcoa,
Gulf Oil (now Chevron-Texaco),
Westinghouse (now
CBS Corporation and
Siemens) and
Rockwell, all were directly founded and managed by the bank.
U.S. Steel (the world's first billion-dollar corporation),
Heinz,
General Motors,
Koppers and
ExxonMobil (as Rockefeller's Standard Oil) were born and nurtured by Mellon. • In 1920, Andrew left his leadership post of the bank to become the longest serving
U.S. Treasury Secretary in history (serving under three separate administrations). • In 1929, Richard founded Mellbank Corporation. In 1946, Mellon National, Mellbank, and the Union Trust Company merged to form Mellon National Bank and Trust Company. • A reorganization in 1972 brought about a name change to Mellon Bank, N.A. and the formation of a holding company, Mellon National Corporation. • In 1983, Mellon bought
Girard Bank of
Philadelphia and Central Counties Bank of
State College, Pennsylvania. The next year, Mellon National Corporation became Mellon Bank Corporation, and purchased Northwest Pennsylvania Corporation of
Oil City, Pennsylvania. • In 1986, Mellon bought Commonwealth National Financial of
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is also reported that Mellon operated the 2nd largest financial computing system in the world. • In 1991, Mellon bought United Penn Bank of
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The next year, Mellon bought 54 branch offices of Philadelphia-based
Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, whose parent company had become insolvent. Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, was the first savings bank in the United States, founded in 1819. • In 1996, Mellon joined with
CIBC to found
CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services (CMGSS) in a 50-50 joint venture. • In 1993, Mellon bought The Boston Company from
American Express and AFCO Credit Corporation from The Continental Corporation. The next year, Mellon merged with the
Dreyfus Corporation, bringing its mutual funds under its umbrella. • 1998 saw Mellon's purchase of United Bankshares, Inc., of
Miami, 1st Business Bank of
Los Angeles, and Founders Asset Management. • In 1999, Martin G. McGuinn became chairman and chief executive officer of Mellon Bank Corporation. Mellon Bank Corporation then became Mellon Financial Corporation. Two years later, it sold its
retail banking operations to
Citizens Financial Group. • In 2004, Mellon announced it would purchase Safeco Trust Company from
Seattle-based
Safeco Corporation. The same year, it purchased outstanding shares in
London-based
Pareto Partners and offered them floor space in
Mellon Financial Center (opened earlier in the year). ==Merger with Bank of New York==