JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York. As of June 30, 2021, JPMorgan Chase is the world’s largest bank by market capitalization
The firm is built on the foundation of more than 1,200 predecessor institutions that have come together through the years to form today’s company.
We trace our roots to 1799 in New York City, and our many well-known heritage firms include J.P. Morgan & Co., The Chase Manhattan Bank, Bank One, Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., Chemical Bank, The First National Bank of Chicago, National Bank of Detroit, The Bear Stearns Companies Inc., Robert Fleming Holdings, Cazenove Group and the business acquired in the Washington Mutual transaction. Each of these firms, in its time, was closely tied to innovations in finance and the growth of the U.S. and global economies.
About Us
We aim to be the most respected financial services firm in the world, serving corporations and individuals in more than 100 countries.
Who we are
In a fast-moving and increasingly complex global economy, our success depends on
how faithfully we adhere to our core principles: delivering exceptional client service, acting with integrity and responsibility and supporting the growth of our employees.
Our Business
Our company is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.6 trillion and operations worldwide. Our rich history spans over 200 years. We are a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small business, commercial banking, financial transactions processing and asset management.
We serve millions of customers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under our J.P. Morgan and Chase brands.
J.P. Morgan clients include the world’s most prominent corporations, governments, wealthy individuals and institutional investors.
The U.S. consumer and commercial banking businesses serve customers under the Chase brand.
The Early Years of State Banking
1799
The Manhattan Company is founded
The Manhattan Company, JPMorgan Chase’s earliest predecessor institution, is chartered by the New York State legislature to supply “pure and wholesome” drinking water to the city’s growing population. Among its founders are Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
A provision in the charter allows The Manhattan Company to use its surplus capital for banking operations. Within five months, The Bank of The Manhattan Company opens for business, becoming the second commercial bank in New York City after Hamilton’s Bank of New York. With his banking monopoly broken, Hamilton severs his association with the water company.
1804
The Hamilton – Burr duel
Manhattan Company founder Aaron Burr challenges his personal and political adversary, Alexander Hamilton, to a duel. The two men meet at dawn on July 11th in Weehawken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City. Hamilton is mortally wounded and dies the next morning.
The pistols selected by Hamilton for the duel were owned by his brother-in-law, John B. Church. In 1930 The Bank of The Manhattan Company purchases them from one of Church’s descendants.
1807
First philanthropic endeavor
The Manhattan Company grants New York City’s volunteer fire companies free access to its network of water pipes to fight fires, contributing to the community’s public safety.
1812
The New York Manufacturing Company is incorporated
The New York Manufacturing Company, the earliest predecessor in Manufacturers Hanover’s family tree, is created to produce tools and parts for the textile industry. The company’s charter permits it to conduct a banking operation, similar to The Manhattan Company’s example, and it establishes Phenix Bank in 1817.
1817
The Bank of The Manhattan Company funds the Erie Canal
The Bank of The Manhattan Company is a key lender for the construction of the Erie Canal, which opens in 1825 linking the Hudson River to the Great Lakes. Later in the century the bank provides funds to support interest payments on Erie Canal bonds and to enlarge and modernize the canal.
1823
The New York Chemical Manufacturing Company opens
New York City merchants organize the New York Chemical Manufacturing Company to produce chemicals, medicines, paints and dyes. The company’s charter prohibits banking activities but a year later the company secures an amendment enabling it to establish a banking subsidiary called The Chemical Bank.
1839
Bank of Commerce opens
The Bank of Commerce opens in New York City. This institution, which merges with the Guaranty Trust Company of New York in 1929, is the earliest predecessor on the J.P. Morgan family tree.
1853
The New York Clearing House brings efficiency to banking
The New York Clearing House is organized, with several JPMC predecessors as charter members, to systematize the daily settling of checks drawn on other local banks. Previously, messengers went from bank to bank to trade checks for cash, a time-consuming and risky process. Centralized clearing greatly reduces the number of transactions and risk among member banks. More than $20 million is cleared on its first day of operation.
1853
Abraham Lincoln becomes a customer
Springfield Marine and Fire Insurance Company opens in 1851 to insure shipping vessels and goods, but it also provides a variety of banking services. Illinois lawyer Abraham Lincoln opens a bank account there two years later with an initial deposit of $310. Lincoln keeps his account in Springfield through his presidential years until his assassination. The firm later evolves into Marine Corporation, a Bank One predecessor.
1854
Junius Morgan begins business in London
Junius S. Morgan, patriarch of the Morgan banking family, moves to London and joins the private banking firm George Peabody & Co. It becomes the leading marketer of American securities in England and Europe, raising capital for the first transatlantic telegraph cable in 1858 among other important deals. The firm is restyled J. S. Morgan & Co. in 1864 and continues as a critical connection in the J.P. Morgan international banking network through the end of the century.
The Panic of 1857
A financial panic causes 18 New York City banks to close on a single day and ushers in a severe economic depression. Most banks suspend “specie payments” but Chemical Bank continues to redeem banknotes in gold coin, helping to stabilize the financial markets and earning it the nickname “Old Bullion.”
