American Bankers Association - Historical Events and Accomplishments

Historical Events and Accomplishments

• On May 24, 1875 James T. Howenstein, cashier of Valley National Bank, invited bankers across the United States to meet in New York City at Barnum hotel to plan a new association of bankers.
• In July 1875, 349 bankers from 31 states and the District of Columbia met in Saratoga, New York to form the American Bankers Association.
• On April 2, 1876 ABA testified before the United States Congress for the first time.
• In 1908, The Office of the General Council was created. Thomas B. Paton became the first General Counsel and leader of the legal department.
• In 1915 at the ABA Convention bankers organized a new National Bank Section which developed a working relationship with the newly created Federal Reserve. The following year state bank representatives formed the State Bank Section, which included over 8,000 members. The section’s primary focus was to consider the state banks’ relationship with the Federal Reserve.
• In 1919 the National Bank Section of ABA opened an office in Washington D.C. near the U.S. Treasury.
• In 1925 the ABA created the Educational Foundation.
• In June 1935 the ABA’s Graduate School of Banking opened at Rutgers University with 220 students after extensive planning by Dr. Harold Stonier.
• In 1960 ABA announced the creation of the National Trust School which held its first meeting in at Northwestern University.
• In 1967 The first ABA computer, an IBM 1460, was installed.
• In 1971, ABA consolidated its New York and Washington offices to its current location.
• In 1981 ABA created the Community Bankers Council to represent community bankers on regulatory and legislative issues.
• In 1982 After the Federal Bureau of Investigation suspended the processing of fingerprint cards, the ABA became the official coordinator of fingerprint identification requests from all depository institutions.
• In 1983 the ABA merged with the Bank Marketing Association.
• On December 1, 2007 the ABA and America’s Community Bankers (ACB), two of the industry’s largest trade associations merged, retaining the American Bankers Association name. Diane Casey-Landry, formerly president and CEO of ACB, became ABA senior executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer.
• On Jan. 1, 2011, Governor Frank Keating became ABA’s president and CEO, following eight years of service as the president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers, and after serving two terms as Oklahoma's 25th governor.