List of oldest banks in continuous operation

This list of the oldest banks includes financial institutions in continuous operation, operating with the same legal identity without interruption since their establishment until the present time.

The merchant banker Cornelius Berenberg, a member of the Berenberg family, whose grandfather founded Berenberg Bank in 1590

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, headquarters in Siena today

Depending on the definition, the world's oldest bank is either Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena or Berenberg Bank. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was founded in its present form in 1624, but traces its history to a mount of piety founded in 1472. The Berenberg company was founded in 1590 and has operated continuously ever since with the same family as owners or major co-owners. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is today a large Italian retail bank, while Berenberg Bank is primarily involved in investment banking and private banking for wealthy customers; in any event Berenberg Bank is the world's oldest merchant bank or investment bank. The world's oldest central bank is the Sveriges Riksbank, which was founded in 1668. Banco di Napoli, which was absorbed by different entities between 2002–2018, had origins dating back to 1539, and until its absorption was likely the oldest bank worldwide in continuous operation; some scholars posit that its origins may be dated back to 1463.^[1]

Banks established in the 15th and 16th century

Year	Company	Country (historic)	Country (modern)	Notes
1472	Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena	Siena, Republic of Siena	Italy	The world's oldest bank. Founded as a mount of piety, refounded in its present form in the Republic of Florence in 1624. From 2017 to 2024, the main shareholder was the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance.
1590	Berenberg Bank	Hamburg, Holy Roman Empire	Germany	The oldest merchant bank

Banks established in the 17th century

Year	Company	Country (historic)	Country (modern)	Notes
1668	Sveriges Riksbank	Kingdom of Sweden	Sweden	The world's oldest central bank.
1672	C. Hoare & Co.	Kingdom of England	United Kingdom	One of the oldest British banks and the oldest privately owned bank, not a limited company.
1674	Metzler Bank	Free City of Frankfurt	Germany
1690	Barclays	Kingdom of England	United Kingdom
1692	Coutts & Co.	Kingdom of England	United Kingdom	Part of NatWest Group.
1694	Bank of England	Kingdom of England	United Kingdom
1695	Bank of Scotland	Kingdom of Scotland	United Kingdom	Part of Lloyds Banking Group.

Banks established in the 18th century

Year	Company	Country (historic)	Country (modern)	Notes
1702	Monte de Piedad de Madrid	Spain	Spain	Predecessor institution to Bankia (today part of CaixaBank)
1717	Drummonds Bank	Kingdom of Great Britain	United Kingdom	A branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland
1727	Royal Bank of Scotland	Kingdom of Great Britain	United Kingdom	Part of NatWest Group
1737	Van Lanschot Kempen	Dutch Republic	Netherlands	The oldest independent bank in the Netherlands[2] and the Benelux.[3][4]
1747	Banque Nagelmackers	Liège	Belgium
1750	Rahn+Bodmer	Zürich	Switzerland
1760	Banque Courtois	Kingdom of France	France
1765	Lloyds Bank	Kingdom of Great Britain	United Kingdom	Part of Lloyds Banking Group.
1774	Fürstlich Castell'sche Bank	Würzburg	Germany
1780	Landolt & Cie	Neuchâtel	Switzerland
1782	Bank of Spain	Spain	Spain
1783	Bank of Ireland	Kingdom of Ireland	Ireland (and Northern Ireland)
1784	The Bank of New York	United States	United States	Oldest US bank tracing to its original incorporation, without resorting to an acquired predecessor[citation needed]
1785	Trinkaus & Burkhardt	Palatinate	Germany	Acquired in 1980s by Midland Bank and then 1992 to British bank HSBC
1786	Hottinger & Cie	Kingdom of France	United Kingdom	Edmond de Rothschild acquired a 42.5% stake in Hottinger Group on 31 May 2022
1792	State Street Corporation	United States	United States	Age dated to predecessor Union Bank
1796	Hauck & Aufhäuser	Free City of Frankfurt	Germany
1796	Lombard Odier & Cie	Geneva	Switzerland
1798	Donner & Reuschel	Hamburg	Germany
1798	M. M. Warburg & Co.	Hamburg	Germany
1799	Bank of the Manhattan Company	United States	United States	Predecessor institution to JPMorgan Chase

Banks established in the 19th century

Year	Company	Country (historic)	Country (modern)	Notes
1800	The Washington Trust Company	United States	United States	United States' oldest commercial bank Rhode Island community bank
1800	Banque de France	French Republic	France
1804	Schroders	United Kingdom	United Kingdom
1805	Pictet & Cie	France (Léman/annexed Geneva)	Switzerland
1808	Banco do Brasil	Kingdom of Portugal (State of Brazil)	Brazil	Brazil's oldest bank
1810	Brown, Shipley & Co.	United Kingdom	United Kingdom
1811	N M Rothschild & Sons	United Kingdom	United Kingdom
1811	Bank of Finland	Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire	Finland
1812	Citibank	United States	United States	Originally City Bank of New York and then National City Bank of New York
1812	Sparkasse Schwyz	Swiss Confederation	Switzerland
1814	Caisse d'Epargne Riviera [de]	Switzerland	Switzerland	One of the oldest active banks in Switzerland.
1814	De Nederlandsche Bank	Netherlands	Netherlands	Precursor: Amsterdam Wisselbank, founded in 1609 and the first Central bank in the world
1815	Banque Bonhôte	Swiss Confederation	Switzerland
1816	Norges Bank	Norway	Norway	Central bank of Norway, founded on the capital of privately owned silver which was delivered to the bank
1816	Cater Allen Private Bank	United Kingdom	United Kingdom
1817	Bank of Montreal	Lower Canada	Canada
1817	Westpac	New South Wales	Australia	as Bank of New South Wales
1818	Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.	United States	United States
1818	Groupe Caisse d'Épargne	Kingdom of France	France	Merged with Groupe Banque Populaire in 2009 to form Groupe BPCE
1818	Berliner Sparkasse	Prussia	Germany
1818	Danmarks Nationalbank	Denmark	Denmark
1819	Mirabaud & Cie	Swiss Confederation	Switzerland
1819	Erste Bank	Austrian Empire	Austria
1819	BankNewport	United States	United States	as Newport Savings Bank
1820	Nordea	Finland	Finland
1820	Swedbank	Sweden	Sweden
1820	Institution for Savings	United States	United States
1822	Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires Province, United Provinces of the Río de la Plata	Argentina
1822	DNB	Norway	Norway	as Christiania Sparebank
1824	Stadtsparkasse München	Bavaria	Germany
1825	Česká spořitelna	Bohemia, Austrian Empire	Czech Republic
1825	Millbury National Bank	United States	United States
1825	Key Bank	United States	United States	Oldest ancestor chartered as Commercial Bank of Albany
1826	AEK Bank 1826	Restored Swiss Confederacy	Switzerland
1827	Hamburger Sparkasse	Hamburg	Germany
1828	Bankhaus Spängler	Austrian Empire	Austria
1828	De Curaçaosche Bank	Curaçao	Curaçao
1828	Citizens Financial Group	United States	United States
1828	Centreville Bank	United States	United States
1828	Bank Indonesia	Dutch East Indies	Indonesia	as De Javasche Bank, the current form was nationalized and officially founded in 1953
1829	Clientis Caisse d’Epargne CEC	Restored Swiss Confederacy	Switzerland
1831	Dedham Institution for Savings	United States	United States	The Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves has an account at the bank, opened in 1832, that is believed to be the oldest account in the nation.[5][6] The bank is also called Dedham Savings.[7]
1831	National Grand Bank	United States	United States
1832	Wilmington Savings Fund Society	United States	United States
1832	Scotiabank	Nova Scotia	Canada
1833	Chemung Canal Trust Company	United States	United States	Merged with Elmira Trust Company in 1902, originally named Chemung Canal Bank.[8]
1833	Arbuthnot Latham	United Kingdom	United Kingdom
1834	Hingham Institution for Savings	United States	United States
1834	Bank BSU	Restored Swiss Confederacy	Switzerland
1834	First Financial Bank	United States	United States	as Terre Haute branch of the Second State Bank of Indiana
1834	Old National Bank	United States	United States
1835	ANZ Bank	Colony of New South Wales	Australia	founded in London as Bank of Australasia; first branch in Sydney
1836	The Honesdale National Bank	United States	United States
1836	Ulster Bank	United Kingdom	United Kingdom &  Ireland	Now a subsidiary of NatWest and operates in two countries
1838	Ballston Spa National Bank	United States	United States
1838	Clydesdale Bank	United Kingdom	United Kingdom
1838	First National Bank	Cape Colony	South Africa
1838	Mauritius Commercial Bank	British Mauritius	Mauritius
1839	Provident Bank of New Jersey	United States	United States
1840	Montepio	Portugal	Portugal
1841	National Bank of Greece	Kingdom of Greece	Greece
1844	Bordier & Cie	Restored Swiss Confederacy	Switzerland
1844	CaixaBank	Spain	Spain	as Caixa de Barcelona. Its predecessor institution Caja Madrid was founded as Monte de Piedad de Madrid in 1702.
1846	Banco de Portugal	Portugal	Portugal
1846	Laurentian Bank	Lower Canada	Canada	As the Montreal City and District Savings Bank
1847	Auckland Savings Bank	New Zealand	New Zealand
1847	National Iron Bank	United States	United States	Oldest private bank in New England
1848	Lazard	United States	United States	Founded as Lazard Frères & Co., a merchant goods store that expanded into banking and foreign exchange.[9]
1849	Oddo & Cie	France	France
1849	Hoerner Bank	Baden	Germany
1849	Australian Mutual Provident Society	New South Wales	Australia
1850	Spar- und Leihkasse Bucheggberg	Switzerland	Switzerland
1850	Nationale Bank van België	Belgium	Belgium
1850	Bank Sparhafen Zürich	Switzerland	Switzerland
1850	Volksbank	Austrian Empire	Austria
1851	Bank of the Philippine Islands	Spanish Philippines	Philippines	Oldest bank in Southeast Asia
1851	Essex Savings Bank	United States	United States
1852	PNC Bank	United States	United States
1852	Crédit Foncier de France	France	France
1852	Wells Fargo	United States	United States
1854	Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank	United States	United States
1854	UBS	Switzerland	Switzerland
1855	Salem Five Cents Bank	United States	United States
1855	Toronto-Dominion Bank	Province of Canada	Canada	as Bank of Toronto; merged with The Dominion Bank in 1955
1856	Credit Suisse	Switzerland	Switzerland
1856	Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État	Luxembourg	Luxembourg
1856	Garanti Bank	Ottoman Empire	Turkey	as Ottoman Bank; merged 2001
1856	M&T Bank	United States	United States
1856	Regions Bank	United States	United States	as 1st National Bank of Huntsville; merged with two other banks in 1971
1856	Exchange Bank & Trust[10]	United States	United States	Founding date of 1/1/1856 comes from predecessor bank - First National Bank of Leavenworth, Kansas. Exchange was founded in Atchison, Kansas in 1857.
1857	Baraboo State Bank	United States	United States
1857	Santander	Spain	Spain
1857	Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria	Spain	Spain
1857	First National Bank Omaha	United States	United States	founded as Kountze Brothers Bank; became First National Bank Omaha in 1865.
1858	Fifth Third Bank	United States	United States
1858	Bendigo & Adelaide Bank	Victoria	Australia	as Bendigo Bank
1858	Standard Chartered	British Raj	India
1859	National Bank of Canada	Province of Canada	Canada
1859	Standard Chartered (Singapore)	Straits Settlement	Singapore	First few foreign banks established in Singapore.
1860	State Bank of the Russian Empire	Russian Empire	Russia
1861	Caixa Econômica Federal	Empire of Brazil	Brazil
1861	Bank of New Zealand	New Zealand	New Zealand
1861	Associated Bank	United States	United States
1862	Bank Spółdzielczy w Brodnicy	Prussia	Poland
1862	Standard Bank	Cape Colony	South Africa
1863	Crédit Lyonnais	Second French Empire	France
1863	First Financial Bank	United States	United States
1863	U.S. Bank	United States	United States	through merger with The First National Bank of Cincinnati (National Charter #24)
1863	Ziraat Bankası	Ottoman Empire	Turkey
1864	First National Bank of Pennsylvania	United States	United States	as First National Bank of West Greenville
1864	First Horizon National Corporation	United States	United States	Founded as First National Bank of Memphis, or First National Bank, and also later went by First Tennessee Bank.[11]
1864	Royal Bank of Canada	Province of Canada	Canada
1864	Société Générale	Second French Empire	France
1864	CEC Bank	Romanian United Principalities	Romania
1864	The First National Bank & Trust Company of Newtown	United States	United States
1865	HSBC	British Hong Kong	Hong Kong	as The Hongkong and Shanghai Bank
1865	Allahabad Bank	British Raj	India
1865	Isle of Man Bank	Isle of Man	Isle of Man	The bank was acquired by National Provincial Bank in 1961
1866	Huntington Bancshares	United States	United States	as The Huntington National Bank
1867	Bank of Stockton	United States	United States
1867	Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce	Province of Canada[a]	Canada	as Canadian Bank of Commerce; merged on 1 June 1961 with the Imperial Bank of Canada
1868	Busey Bank	United States	United States	both Busey Brothers Bank, and bought-out The Bank of Edwardsville, date back to 1868
1868	Sandy Spring Bank	United States	United States
1868	Oldenburgische Landesbank	Oldenburg	Germany
1869	The Savings Bank	United States	United States	founded as the Wakefield Savings Bank
1869	Goldman Sachs	United States	United States
1869	Baker Boyer Bank	United States	United States
1869	Jefferson Security Bank	United States	United States	Founded as Jefferson Savings Bank[12]
1870	Banco de Bogotá	Colombia	Colombia
1870	Bank Handlowy	Congress Poland, Russian Empire	Poland
1870	Commerzbank	Kingdom of Prussia	Germany
1870	Deutsche Bank	Kingdom of Prussia	Germany
1870	Dominick & Dominick	United States	United States	Founded as Dominick & Dickerman, renamed several times.[13]
1870	Zürcher Kantonalbank	Switzerland	Switzerland
1871	Banco Nacional de Bolivia	Bolivia	Bolivia
1871	Danske Bank	Denmark	Denmark
1871	Handelsbanken	Sweden	Sweden
1871	Wayne Bank	United States	United States
1872	Truist Financial	United States	United States
1872	Sparkasse Schwaz	Austrian Empire	Austria
1873	The Daishi Bank (ja)	Japan	Japan
1873	Zions Bank	United States	United States
1873	Bank of the Province of Córdoba	United Provinces	Argentina
1874	Bank of Queensland	Queensland	Australia
1874	The Bank of Marion	United States	United States	Third oldest bank in Virginia
1875	Toowoomba Permanent Building Society	Queensland	Australia
1875	Standard Chartered Bank	Straits Settlements	Malaysia	Malaysia's oldest bank
1876	Pharaon & Chiha Bank	Ottoman Empire	Lebanon	Oldest bank in Lebanon; acquired by Byblos Bank in 2016[14]
1876	Caixa Geral de Depósitos	Portugal	Portugal
1877	POSB Bank	Straits Settlements	Singapore	Singapore's oldest local bank
1877	Banco de Costa Rica	Costa Rica	Costa Rica
1877	QNB Bank	United States	United States
1877	The Juroku Bank (ja)	Japan	Japan
1877	Eighteenth Bank (ja)	Japan	Japan
1877	Bank of Washington	United States	United States
1878	Close Brothers Group	United Kingdom	United Kingdom
1878	Bank of the City of Buenos Aires	Argentina	Argentina
1878	The Hyakujushi Bank (ja)	Japan	Japan
1878	The 77 Bank	Japan	Japan
1878	The Hyakugo Bank (ja)	Japan	Japan
1879	Alpha Bank	Kingdom of Greece	Greece
1879	Bulgarian National Bank	Principality of Bulgaria	Bulgaria
1879	Kakegawa Shinkin Bank (ja)	Japan	Japan
1880	Illawarra Mutual Building Society	New South Wales	Australia
1880	National Bank of Romania	Romania	Romania
1881	Oppenheimer	United States	United States
1881	Banc Sabadell	Spain	Spain
1881	Bank of Clarke County	United States	United States
1882	Crédit Mutuel	French Third Republic	France
1882	Bank of Japan	Japan	Japan
1883	Bank Mendes Gans	Netherlands	Netherlands
1883	Hancock Bank	United States	United States
1884	National Bank of Serbia	Kingdom of Serbia	Serbia
1884	Banque de Tunisie	French protectorate of Tunisia	Tunisia
1884	Banco Nacional de Mexico	Mexico	Mexico
1885	Banco Davivienda El Salvador	El Salvador	El Salvador
1886	Banca Sella Group	Kingdom of Italy	Italy	as Gaudenzio Sella & C.
1886	E. Gutzwiller & Cie. Banquiers	Switzerland	Switzerland
1886	Obwaldner Kantonalbank	Switzerland	Switzerland
1886	Banco Francés del Río de la Plata	Argentina	Argentina
1887	Banco Nacional de la República Oriental del Uruguay	Uruguay	Uruguay	The only part of the bank that did not go into bankruptcy, the mortgage section, became in 1892 the Banco Hipotecario del Uruguay, nationalized in 1912 and still in operation.
1888	Hatton National Bank	Ceylon	Sri Lanka	Established in 1888 as the “Hatton Bank” to cater to the flourishing tea industry in the central region of Sri Lanka.[15]
1888	Powell Valley National Bank	United States	United States
1889	Bryn Mawr Trust	United States	United States
1889	Northern Trust	United States	United States
1889	First National Bank of Berryville	United States	United States	Later named the First National Bank of Arkansas and then in 2022, the Bank of 1889.[16]
1890	Banco de Venezuela	Venezuela	Venezuela	Founded as a government institution as Banco Comercial, then renamed in 1890 to Banco de Venezuela.
1891	Banco de la Nación Argentina	Argentina	Argentina
1893	Banca d'Italia	Kingdom of Italy	Italy
1893	Banco de Chile	Chile	Chile
1893	Blue Ridge Bank	United States	United States
1893	National Australia Bank	Victoria	Australia	as Commercial Banking Company of Sydney
1894	First Bank of Nigeria	Lagos Colony	Nigeria
1895	Punjab National Bank	British Raj	India
1895	Bankwest	Western Australia	Australia	as Agricultural Bank of Western Australia
1895	Bank Rakyat Indonesia	Dutch East Indies	Indonesia
1895	Bay State Savings Bank	United States	United States
1896	The Awa Bank (ja)	Japan	Japan
1896	Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay	Uruguay	Uruguay
1896	Kenya Commercial Bank Group	East Africa Protectorate	Kenya	as a subsidiary of National Bank of India
1897	Shinhan Bank	Joseon	South Korea
1898	National Bank of Egypt	Egypt	Egypt
1899	Bank of Cyprus	British Cyprus	Cyprus
1899	Woori Bank	Korean Empire	South Korea
1899	Fukui Bank (ja)	Japan	Japan
1899	Bank of Taiwan	Japan-administered Formosa	Taiwan
1899	First Commercial Bank	Japan-administered Formosa	Taiwan

See also

• History of banking
• List of oldest companies

Notes

1. Bank was founded on May 15; two months before Canadian confederation (July 1)

References

1. "Storia: Banco di Napoli - Intesa Sanpaolo".
2. International Investment UBS to sell its Netherlands wealth management bizhttps://www.internationalinvestment.net/internationalinvestment/news/3503988/ubs-sell-netherlands-wealth-management-biz Archived 8 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2 January 2021
3. "A Chinese carmaker agrees to buy a Danish investment bank". The Economist. 5 October 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
4. The New York Times Belgian Bank Deal 25 April 1990 https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/25/business/company-news-belgian-bank-deal.html Accessed 2 January 2021
5. Dedham Institution for Savings (2004). "This man has an account with us, opened in 1832, to fund the apprehension of horse thieves" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2005. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
6. Howard, Marjorie (25 January 2013). "Office Treasures: No Horse Thievery Here". Tufts Now. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
7. "South Shore, Dedham Savings banks to merge, but keep their respective brands - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
8. "Star-Gazette Subscription Offers, Specials, and Discounts".
9. Guy de Rougemont, Lazard Frères, Banquiers des Deux Mondes (1840-1939), Librairie Arthème Fayard, 2010
10. "Exchange Bank & Trust | Personal, Business & Military Banking". www.ebt.bank. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
11. "First Tennessee National Corporation." International Directory of Company Histories, edited by Paula Kepos, vol. 11, St. James Press, 1995, pp. 120-121. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
12. "Tennant recognizes Jefferson Security Bank as state's oldest business". shepherdstownchronicle.com. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
13. "ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED.; Dominick & Dominick, Brokers, Observe Fiftieth Year in Business". The New York Times. 15 June 1920. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
14. "News Room | Byblos Bank Acquires Banque Pharaon & Chiha | Lebanon | Byblos Bank". www.byblosbank.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
15. "About HNB | Recognized as the Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka".
16. Waldon, George (30 May 2022). "'Bank of 1889' Set to Debut In Berryville". Arkansas Business.

Literature

• Manfred Pohl; Sabine Freitag (1994), Handbook on the History of European Banks, European Association for Banking History, Cambridge University Press.