If Wells Fargo's history is one success story of a San Francisco-born bank, then wait to hear the success story of San Francisco's banking.
This story takes us back to the dreaded hours that followed the Great Quake and Fire of 1906. The city is in ruins. Among rubble, dust, smoke and desperation, here is a man with two horses and a borrowed wagon. He is Amadeo Peter Giannini, the son of Genoese immigrants, who in 1904 founded the Bank of Italy. Determined to save his bank, he rescues from the ruins $2 million in gold, coins and securities loading secretly his wagon which he covers with vegetables. Next thing he does is to set up shop on the docks in North Beach encouraging people of modest income to save and invest their money. Whether his was business genius, vision, ambition to succeed, pioneer spirit or all put together is less important. The city, and the bank founded by Giannini, soon recovered and consolidated. The Bank of Italy became the first bank for small businesses and individuals, a bank for hardworking people and immigrants. Since 1930 it was known as the Bank of America. Today the Bank of America is the largest bank in the United States and does business transactions with 190 countries.
In this picture you can see the Bank of America International Headquarters (located at 555 California Street) With its 82 storeys it was the tallest building in the city in 1972; today it is surpassed only by the Transamerica Pyramid.