The Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS), originally called the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, was a savings bank

Savings bank

A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits. It may also perform some other functions.In Europe, savings banks originated in the 19th or sometimes even the 18th century. Their original objective was to provide easily accessible savings products to...

 headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, United States. PSFS was founded in December 1816, becoming the first savings bank to organize and do business in the United States. The bank would grow into being one of the largest savings banks in the United States and become a Philadelphia institution with generations of Philadelphians opening up accounts as children and becoming life-long depositors.

The bank was organized by a group of men led by Condy Raguet

Condy Raguet

Condy Raguet was the first chargé d'affaires from the United States to Brazil and a noted politician and free trade advocate from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of French descent, Raguet was educated at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating he began studying law but had to give up his...

 after reading about the concept of savings banks becoming popular in Great Britain.