The Walter B. Wriston Archives

Banking Timeline, 1950-2006

1950

Diners Club Card is first issued. It is the first charge card.⁴⁵

1955

The National City Bank of New York is renamed the First National City Bank of New York.⁴⁶

1956

May 9 -- Bank Holding Company Act establishes new regulations for bank holding companies to purchase banks and prohibits interstate bank purchases. It also prohibits bank holding companies from engaging in non-banking activities.⁴⁷

1958

October 1 -- American Express launches its own credit card, and other companies quickly follow.⁴⁸

1960

National City Bank of New York installs Bankographs, the predecessor of Automatic Teller Machines (ATM), in their lobbies.⁴⁹

1961

National City Bank of New York invents the negotiable certificate of deposit (CD).⁵⁰

1966

Citibank introduces Dollar Certificates of Deposit in the London market, the first new negotiable instrument in the London market since 1888.⁵¹

1967

Citibank introduces its first credit card, "First National City Charge Service," popularly known as the "Everything" card.⁵²

1968

May 29 -- The Truth in Lending Act which is part of the Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968 is passed by Congress. The Act regulates the information that is provided to the consumer. It provides full disclosure to consumers of credit terms.⁵³

First National City Corporation, a bank holding company, becomes the parent of First National City Bank.⁵⁴

1969

The "Everything" card is converted to Master Charge (today's MasterCard).⁵⁵

1970

December 31 -- The Bank Holding Company Act (BHCA) Amendments are passed by Congress. The Amendments are created to clarify aspects of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. It requires the Federal Reserve Board to regulate bank holding companies and establishes what non-bank activities are or are not permissible.⁵⁶

1974

The National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) is formed by regional Automated Clearing Houses. The National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) is established to oversee the payments of Automated Clearing Houses. Automated Clearing Houses were established as a payment system to clear checks electronically.⁵⁷

The First National City Corporation holding company changes its name to Citicorp to better suit its global businesses. Citicorp introduces the floating rate note into the U.S. financial market.⁵⁸

1975

New York City is on the verge of bankruptcy partially because of overextending their budget; however, there are other contributing factors. To prevent future fiscal issues, several organizations are established to oversee the city's finances such as the Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC) and the Emergency Financial Control Board (EFCB). In addition, the Governor of New York, Hugh Carey, petitioned the U.S. government for assistance. President Gerald Ford initially refused, but in November 1975 provided the city with short-term loans.⁵⁹

December 31 -- The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) is passed by Congress. The Act requires financial institutions to collect loan information, report the information to the government, and make it available to the public.⁶⁰

1976

First National City Bank becomes Citibank, N.A.(for National Association).⁶¹

1977

Citibank launches Citicard Banking Centers, anchored by ATMS and the Citicard. The 24-hour ATMs are for the first time used for more than emergency cash.⁶²

1978

September 17 -- The International Banking Act is passed by Congress. The Act delegates the regulation and supervision of foreign banks in the U.S. to the Federal Reserve.⁶³

October 27 -- The Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act, also called the Humphrey-Hawkins Act, is signed by President Jimmy Carter. The Act is established to improve employment conditions. It instructs the government to balance the budget and trade and to establish a monetary policy.⁶⁴

November 10 -- Financial Institutions Regulatory and Interest Rate Control Act is signed by President Jimmy Carter. The Act establishes the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and regulations for bank insider transactions and electronic fund transfers.⁶⁵

1980

November 10 -- President Jimmy Carter signs the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act. The Act establishes reserve requirements for all banks including ones not in the Federal Reserve System. It also begins phasing out Regulation Q which dictates what banks can pay on deposits; and it authorizes savings and loans associations to issue credit cards among other rights. Finally, it exempted mortgage and other types of loans from state usury laws.⁶⁶

1981

August 13 -- President Ronald Reagan signs the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA). It reduces individual income taxes and corporate taxes. It also provides tax incentives for savings and real estate investment as well as deductions for charitable donations and reductions for estate and gift taxes.⁶⁷

1985

Citibank introduces Direct Access in New York, linking personal computers in homes and offices with Citibank.⁶⁸

1986

Citicorp introduces unique touch-screen automated teller machine in New York City and Hong Kong.⁶⁹

October 22 --

President Ronald Reagan signs the Tax Reform Act (TRA) which is created to simplify the income tax code and to eliminate tax shelters.⁷⁰

1989

August 9 -- President George H. W. Bush signs the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA). It abolishes the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) absorbs the responsibility of insuring deposits. It also abolishes the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB), but creates the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) to take its place. The Act establishes the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) to handle savings and loan failures. It also creates two insurance funds the Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF) and the Bank Insurance Fund (BIF).⁷¹

1991

December 19 -- President George H. W. Bush signs the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act (FDICIA) which increased the powers of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). It also gives the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) the authority to borrow directly from the U.S. Treasury to replenish the Bank Insurance Fund (BIF) and authorizes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to close failing banks in the most cost-effective manner for the Bank Insurance Fund (BIF).⁷²

December 19 -- The Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act (FBSEA) is part of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act (FDICIA). The Act establishes federal standards for the creation of foreign banks in the U.S.; and the Federal Reserve Board is authorized to supervise and regulate foreign banking operations in the United States.⁷³

1993

Citicorp becomes the largest credit card and charge card issuer and servicer in the world.⁷⁴

1994

September 23 -- President William J. Clinton signs the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act (RCDRIA) which restricts non-bank lenders from abusive lending practices towards the low and moderate income homeowners, minorities, and the elderly. The Act also contains provisions to reduce bank regulatory and paperwork requirements.⁷⁵

September 29 -- President William J. Clinton signs the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act which enables banks and bank holding companies to branch across states. It also enables interstate bank mergers if concentration limits, state laws, and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) evaluations are met.⁷⁶

1998

October 8 -- All Citicorp and Travelers Group divisions merge to become Citigroup, Inc.⁷⁷

1999

November 12 -- President William J. Clinton signs the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) which repeals the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. The Act allows commercial and investment banks to merge and enables competition between banking, insurance, and securities businesses.⁷⁸

2001

October 26 -- President George W. Bush signs the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act which is also called the U.S.A Patriot Act. The act expands the authority of U.S. law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism, and expands the authority of the U.S. Treasury to investigate any activities which finance terrorist acts. It increases law enforcement agencies' ability to search telephone and email communications and other personal records.⁷⁹

October 26 -- The International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-Terrorism Act is part of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act which is also called the U.S.A Patriot Act. The International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-Terrorism Act is established to prevent money laundering. The Act requires additional record keeping and reporting by U.S. banks for accounts held by foreign banks and peoples; and it also requires banks to enact anti-money laundering programs.⁸⁰

December 2 -- Enron Corporation files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was revealed in 2001 that the Enron Corporation was committing accounting fraud.⁸¹

2002

July 30 -- President George W. Bush signs the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which is enacted as a result of Enron and other accounting scandals. The Act establishes the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to oversee public accounting firms that audit publicly traded companies. It also prohibits accounting firms from providing both auditing and consulting services; and requires Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) to certify the annual and quarterly reports of publicly traded companies. It also requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide rules and regulations for audits.⁸²

2003

December 4 -- President George W. Bush signs the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) which is designed to improve the national credit reporting system and to reduce identity theft. The Act provides consumers with a free copy of their credit report each year, if they request it, and allows consumers to put a fraud alert on their credit report. In addition, the Act requires businesses to partially conceal credit card numbers on receipts.⁸³

2004

October 28 -- President George W. Bush signs the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act which is also called Check 21. The Act reduces some of the legal restrictions of check truncation which is removing the paper check from the processing system and substituting it with a digital image of the original paper check. The substitute check can be used to process the check electronically.⁸⁴

2006

October 13 -- President George W. Bush signs the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act which is designed to reduce the regulatory burdens on banks, savings and loans, and credit unions.⁸⁵

2006

December 12 -- President George W. Bush signs the Financial Netting Improvements Act which revises the Bankruptcy Code and clarifies the safe harbor protections.⁸⁶

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