Republic New York

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Republic New York
IndustryBanking
Founded1966; 58 years ago (1966)
FounderEdmond Safra

Republic New York Corporation was the holding company for Republic National Bank of New York, Safra Republic Holdings, and Safra Republic Bank.[1]

The company was controlled by billionaire Edmond Safra, who was killed in a fire in his Monte Carlo penthouse apartment by his nurse Ted Maher.[2] Republic New York Corporation was sold shortly after its chairman's death to HSBC Bank USA, the US subsidiary of HSBC of the UK.

Joseph Safra, the brother of Edmond Safra, controlled and owned independently the Safra Group of banks and financial institutions.

History[edit]

1966: Republic National Bank of New York is founded by Edmond Safra.[3] Safra had previously opened the Trade Development Bank in Geneva, Switzerland, which acquired a 36% stake in Republic.[4]

1973: Republic New York Corporation was established as a one-bank holding company for Republic National Bank.

1974: Acquires Kings Lafayette Bank, which has 18 branches.

1975: Acquires American Swiss Credit Company, Ltd., formerly part of Franklin National Bank.

1977: Opens Republic Factors Corporation.

1978: Opens Republic International Bank of New York in Miami, Florida.

1980: Republic is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Opens Republic International Bank of New York in Los Angeles, California.

1983: Edmond Safra sells Trade Development Bank to American Express. Several years later, American Express tries to smear Safra, after he attempts to open a competing business.

1987: Acquires the Williamsburgh Savings Bank.

1988: Edmond Safra organizes Safra Holdings S.A. in Geneva, Switzerland, which is 49% owned by Republic.

1990: Acquires Manhattan Savings Bank.

1992: Establishes Republic New York Securities Corporation.

1993: Acquires SafraCorp California and renames it Republic Bank California N.A. Acquires Bank Leumi of Canada. Acquires Mase Westpac Limited, which is a member of the London Gold Fixing. Acquires Citibank's World Banknote Services operations.

1995: Acquires Crossland Federal Savings Bank.

1999: HSBC acquires Republic New York for US$9.8-billion.[5][6]

2001: Republic pleads guilty to fraud and agrees to restitution of $606 million in connection with cheating Japanese customers by its Republic New York Securities Corporation subsidiary.[7] Their partner at the time Martin Armstrong was convicted and spent 11 years in prison.[8]

2015: Safra Group purchased Chiquita Brands International[9]

Safra Republic Holdings[edit]

Thousand year bonds[edit]

Safra Republic Holdings issued $250 million of 1,000 year bonds in 1997, at a time when there were "a number of 100-year bond issues by corporations."[10]

Safra's banking interests catered to clients looking for tax havens in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco.[11]

Republic National Bank of New York[edit]

452 Fifth Avenue, formerly Republic National Bank of New York's Fifth Avenue Headquarters

Republic National Bank of New York[12] operated without the "Of New York" part of its full name,[4] even though the name "Republic National Bank of" had at times been used elsewhere.[13][14][15]

From 1980 until Safra's death, Walter Weiner was Safra's attorney and CEO of Republic National Bank of New York and, in 1983, Wiener became chairman of the bank.[11]

In 1981, Republic National Bank of New York sought a tax abatement to construct its Fifth Avenue headquarters. The bank was the first midtown project to be turned down since the city's brush with bankruptcy in the mid-1970's. Kenneth Schuman, chairman of the city's Industrial and Commercial Incentive Board, said that the market had become strong enough so that construction would take place without the tax abatement.[16]

In 1998, Safra's Republic National Bank of New York was the preferred foreign bank through which most Russian banks had correspondent accounts. Both Russian banks, including SBS-Agro (Russian: СБС-Агро), Menatep (Russian: Менатеп), Inkom (Russian: Инком), and United Bank (Russian: Объединенный банк), and the Russian Ministry of Finance transferred IMF loan money to foreign locations through Safra's Republic National Bank of New York.[17][18]

On 17 August 1998, the Republic National Bank of New York lost 45% of its net income due to its large holding of Russian bonds that became worthless after the 1998 Russian financial crisis.[11]

In 1999, Safra sold Safra Republic Holdings and Republic New York Corporation to HSBC for $10.3 billion in cash.[19][20] On 31 December 1999, HSBC Private Bank became the new name for Safra's former holdings.[21]

When Republic was taken over by HSBC Bank USA, which already had acquired the former Marine Midland Bank, the combination retained what Republic had previously achieved:[5] "the third-biggest retail branch network in the New York region."[22] Two competitive parts of their operation were "low-cost checking and free automated teller machine services."[23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Safra Republic Bank - Trademark of Republic New York Corporation". March 9, 1994.
  2. ^ The mystery of the billionaire banker, Dateline NBC, March 23, 2008.
  3. ^ "Republic New York Corporation - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Republic New York Corporation".
  4. ^ a b Carter B. Horsley (August 16, 1981). "New Tower for Republic National Bank". NYTimes.com. The Republic National Bank has begun ...
  5. ^ a b Stephen Miller (May 9, 2016). "Walter Weiner, Who Led Safra's Republic Bank, Dies at 85". Bloomberg.com. Republic was the third-largest retail banking network in the New York region
  6. ^ The original $10.3B was reduced to $9.85 following a scandal that resulted in a $600mm settlement.
  7. ^ Gilpin, Kenneth N. (18 December 2001). "Republic New York Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  8. ^ Pacelle, Mitchell (December 18, 2001). "Republic New York Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Agrees to Pay Restitution". Wall Street Journal.
  9. ^ "Two Deals Bring Attention to Banking's Safra Family". NYTimes.com. February 18, 2015. The Safra Group, headed by Joseph Safra, recently bought Chiquita Brands International, the fruit company
  10. ^ Floyd Norris (October 9, 1997). "Bank Offers 1,000-Year Bonds". Will Republic National Bank still be around in 2997?
  11. ^ a b c Miller, Steven (9 May 2016). "Walter Weiner, Who Led Edmond Safra's Republic Bank, Dies at 85". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Republic National Bank of New York".
  13. ^ Of Texas, 1922, later dropping the Republic part, named Texas State Bank & Trust "REPUBLIC BANK - The Handbook of Texas Online (Texas State Bank & Trust)". June 15, 2010. In 1922 Guaranty received a national charter, took the name Republic National Bank of Dallas
  14. ^ "REPUBLIC NATIONAL BANK OF MIAMI, Petitioner, v. UNITED STATES". October 5, 1992.
  15. ^ "Republic National Bank of Louisiana". Republic National Bank of Louisiana is not active anymore since 1977-08-01. First City Bank was the successor institution
  16. ^ Smith, Randy (December 17, 1980). "$6 Billion Bank Asks Tax Cut for New 5th Avenue HQ". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  17. ^ Лурье, Олег (Lurie, Oleg) [in Russian] (28 February 2000). "╚НОРМАЛЬНЫЕ╩ ГЕРОИ ВСЕГДА ИДУТ В ОБХОД? Неизвестные факты из жизни Михаила Касьянова" [NORMAL HEROES ALWAYS WALK OUT? Unknown facts from the life of Mikhail Kasyanov]. "Новая Газета" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 25 May 2000. Retrieved 21 July 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Лурье, Олег (Lurie, Oleg) [in Russian] (3 March 2003). "Cxema Движения Кпедита МВФ В 4,8 МЛРД. ДОЛЛ" [Scheme Transfer IMF Credits $4.8 billion]. Время новостей (Vremya Novostei) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Swiss Leaks: Billionaire Safra key to HSBC Swiss bank origins". Thelocal.ch. 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Bank Group to Buy Republic New York". The New York Times. 11 May 1999. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  21. ^ "HSBC Private Bank: Company history". HSBC website. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  22. ^ Alan Cowell (May 11, 1999). "HSBC to Pay $10.3 Billion For Republic". The New York Times. HSBC Holdings P.L.C. announced today that it would purchase the parent company of the Republic National Bank of New York for $10.3 billion
  23. ^ Republic already had introduced No-charge ATM
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