The Bank of Italy was founded in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, USA, in 1904 by Amadeo Giannini

Amadeo Giannini

Amadeo Pietro Giannini, also known as Amadeo Peter Giannini or A.P. Giannini , born in San Jose, California, was the American founder of Bank of America.-Biography:...

. It grew by a branch banking strategy to become the Bank of America

Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...

, the world's largest commercial bank with 493 branches in California and assets of $5 billion in 1945.

The bank was established to serve working class citizens of the area, especially Italians living in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. The bank survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906

1906 San Francisco earthquake

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...

 and was one of the first to offer loans to businesses to help rebuild the city.

The Bank of Italy building, which later became a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

, was opened in 1908.