In his long and often stormy banking & business career, big, bull-necked old A. P. Giannini had retired officially at least three times. But he had too much energy to sit still; unofficially he went right on working so hard at his Bank of America that friends knew there was only one way he would really retire. A month ago, as he passed his 79th birthday, A.P. confided to a reporter that it would be his last. A.P., who had been right so many times before, was right this time, too.
Last week, in his San Mateo, Calif. home, Amadeo Peter Giannini died of a heart attack. Behind him he left the biggest banking empire in the world ($6 billion in assets and 522 branches), but a personal fortune estimated as low as $300,000. A.P. had never been interested in merely making money.
Panic & Proxies. Born to the black-bread fare of Italian immigrants, young Giannini thrived on the urgent challenges of disaster, the quick opportunities of every self-made man. Taken into his stepfather's San Francisco produce business at twelve, A.P. became a partner at 19, half-owner a few years later. He retired from the business at 31 with a $250 monthly income.
From his father-in-law, A.P. inherited a directorship in San Francisco's Columbus Savings & Loan Society. He soon clashed with other directors over their policy of lending only to a favored few, and walked out in a huff to found the Bank of Italy. It became known as a lender to the little man.
After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, A.P. saved his business from fire and looters by lugging its assets away in vegetable carts. A few days later, before the other banks could gather their wits, A.P. was open for business in another part of town. In the panic of 1907, the Bank of Italy rode through safely, thanks to Giannini's cautious hoarding of gold. As a horde of settlers poured into California to start ranches, orange groves and vineyards, the Bank of Italy lent them the cash they needed and spread its branches throughout the state. To consolidate his empire and run his real estate and insurance interests, A.P. founded Transamerica Corp.
Fall & Rise. By 1930 the Bank of Italy caught up with its prestige and size: it became the Bank of America National Trust & Savings Ass'n. A.P. retired again. But soon he disagreed with the way his interests were being run, and rode back into power on a wave of proxies.
During the depression, Bank of America and Transamerica found the going rough. Transamerica's stock plunged from a 1929 high of 67 to 2. But A.P., always full of optimism, kept right on expanding, and thus was ready for California's war boom. In 1945, Bank of America rose to the proud position of world's largest private bank.
Giannini's death will bring few changes in Bank of America policy. His empire is in the hands of such trusty viziers as his son, Lawrence Mario ("L.M.") Giannini, who has been president since 1936, and Chairman Al J. Gock, a crack operating man.