Comerica - History

History

The company was founded in Detroit by Elon Farnsworth in 1849 as the Detroit Savings Fund Institute. Its name changed to The Detroit Savings Bank in 1871 and to The Detroit Bank in 1936, being one of the few area banks to survive the Great Depression. In 1956, the company merged with Birmingham National Bank, Ferndale National Bank and Detroit Wabeek Bank and Trust Company to form The Detroit Bank & Trust Company. The current name was adopted in 1982.

In 1982, the company entered the Florida market. In 1983, it acquired its hometown rival Bank of the Commonwealth. It entered the Texas market in 1988 when it acquired Grand Bancshares. The California market was added in 1991 when Plaza Commerce Bancorp and InBancshares were acquired.

In 1992, it merged with Manufacturers National Corporation. Both banks were approximately the same size in assets ($14.3 billion and $12.5 billion, respectively) and employees (7,000 and 6,000). The headquarters of the merged bank was relocated to the newly constructed Comerica Tower at Detroit Center in downtown Detroit in 1993.

In 1996, the company sold its Illinois operation, which was acquired through its merger with Manufacturers, to LaSalle Bank. In 2000, it sold its credit card division to MBNA. In 2001, it acquired Imperial Bank of California.

In 1998, the company purchased the naming rights to the baseball stadium in downtown Detroit, home to the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. It is to pay $66 million over a period of thirty years for the naming rights to Comerica Park.

On March 6, 2007, the company announced its decision to relocate its corporate headquarters to Dallas. The move was completed in August 2007 when the company moved into 1717 Main Street in downtown Dallas. The building has since been renamed Comerica Bank Tower.

In January 2008, the company was selected by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as the financial agent for its Direct Express debit-card program.

On January 18, 2011, it announced the acquisition of Sterling Bank (Texas) for $1.03 billion.

In August 2011, the company consolidated its Detroit operations into the 411 Building, vacating One Detroit Center. The 411 Building is the former headquarters of Manufacturers Bank.

In October 2012, the company hired George Smirnoff as Chief Information Security Officer: http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/177_198/comerica-appoints-chief-information-security-officer-1053454-1.html