Amalgamated Bank Revenue and Competitors

For over eighty years, Amalgamated Bank has been providing financial services to working people. The Bank first opened its doors in New York on April 14, 1923. Under the leadership of Sidney Hillman, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America had invested $300,000 to launch the union bank. Since our inception during an era when most banks served only businesses and wealthy individuals, it has been the goal of Amalgamated Bank to serve as America's Labor Bank. The Bank's report for 1926 noted that "the outstanding feature of the Bank's loan operations has been its service to small borrowers who are unable to furnish real estate or securities as collateral." In addition to breaking ground by offering unsecured installment loans to working people, the Bank also moved quickly to implement a foreign funds transfer system to enable immigrant workers to send money to their families overseas. The Bank grew as it built its reputation for fair-dealing and professional service. Two years after opening, Amalgamated Bank moved from its original location on East 14th Street to the current site of the bank's headquarters at 15 Union Square, the former home of Tiffany & Company. A 1929 history of the U.S. labor banking movement published by Princeton University reported that the Bank's policies were "cautious and yet progressive," predicting that "[w]ith the continuance of the confidence which both the bank and the present union administration have enjoyed, the Amalgamated Bank will become all the more the outstanding labor bank." As the only fully union-owned U.S. bank still in operation, Amalgamated Bank remains firmly committed to its role as partner to the labor movement in the twenty-first century. In order to provide services more broadly, the bank has opened branch operations in new locations in New York, as well as New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and, most recently, in California. All of the branches offer the free checking accounts that were first established by Amalgamated Bank in 1973, as well as a full line of individual and commercial banking services. The Trust & Investment Services Division of the bank was also launched in 1973 to serve the needs of union-related trust funds. This division provides investment management services for all types of multi-employer benefit plans. In 1992 the LongView Collective Investment Fund was first offered as a unique equity index fund that would push for enhanced shareholder value by encouraging corporate boards to pursue sound governance policies and hold managements accountable to high standards of corporate citizenship. A lot has changed since Amalgamated Bank was founded in 1923. The retirement savings of working people now account for the largest pool of investment capital in the United States - over 20 percent of all the securities in American markets. Amalgamated Bank strives to be the most active and involved investment manager in the country, pursuing value for our investors and monitoring corporate governance. At the same time we continue to grow our depository and lending services to individuals, businesses and organizations across the nation. With total assets of over $4.0 billion, we are committed to serving the financial needs of working families and the labor movement for many years to come.