Bank of America, Los Angeles

The Bank of America, Los Angeles was established in 1923 by Orra E. Monnette, emerging from a series of mergers between Los Angeles based banks between 1909 and 1923. It ultimately merged with the Bank of Italy (USA) to form the Bank of America.

The foundation for the Bank of America, Los Angeles was the Los Angeles based American National Bank of Los Angeles (ANB) which Monnette purchased controlling interest using profits from his father's silver mine in Tonapah, Nevada. In 1909, ANB was merged into Citizens Trust and Savings Bank; in 1911, Monnette purchased the Broadway Bank and Trust Company, which when merged with the family’s other holdings formed the Citizens Bank and Trust Company.

In 1923, Citizens Bank and Trust Company was renamed Bank of America, Los Angeles. Monnette’s intention was to build capital for national expansion; however in 1928 Monnette was approached by Amadeo Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy, (San Francisco, California) who was interested in pursuing a merger with BoA. The resulting Bank of America National Trust and Savings Bank emerged prior to the stock market crash of 1929.