Industry Banking Headquarters Indianapolis Successor Bank One Corporation | Products Financial Services Date founded 1839 Type of business Public | |
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Trading name American Fletcher National Bank
AFNB
American Fletcher Fate Acquired by Banc One on January 27, 1987; 30 years ago (1987-01-27) Key people Frank E. McKinney, Jr.
Frank E. McKinney, Sr.
Evan Woollen Jr. Parent American Fletcher Corporation | ||
10 american fletcher national bank afnb radio commercials
American Fletcher National Bank was an Indianapolis-based bank founded in 1839 that was eventually absorbed by Bank One and later Chase Bank. Since the merger of the Fletcher Trust Company with the American National Bank to form the American Fletcher National Bank and Trust Company at the end of 1954, it had been the largest or the second largest bank in the state of Indiana, often changing places with its Indianapolis-based rival Indiana National Bank for the top spot.
Contents
- 10 american fletcher national bank afnb radio commercials
- History
- American Fletcher Corporation
- Banc One Indiana
- References
In the 1970s and 1980s, they were well known for owning every 222-prefixed number in the 317 area code. Officially, this number was 222-AFNB (2362), but since any combination would work, most people just dialed seven 2s. This line would provide a recorded message with the time, weather, and other announcements. This service was discontinued in 1986 and the number 222-2222 was later used by Indianapolis radio station WIBC for use as their weather line.
History
American Fletcher National Bank (AFNB) was formed on December 31, 1954 upon the merger of the Fletcher Trust Company with the American National Bank to form the second largest bank in the state at that time. Evan Woollen Jr., former president of Fletcher Trust, became president on the combined company. With the merger with the Fidelity Bank & Trust Company into the company on July 31, 1959, AFNB became the largest bank in the state. Woollen had died just a month prior to the completion of the merger. Frank E. McKinney, the leader of Fidelity since 1935, became in charged of AFNB.
American Fletcher Corporation
In 1968, a holding corporation called American Fletcher Corporation (AFC) was formed to be the new parent company for the bank and allow the company to acquire banks outside its home county once the Indiana Legislature pass legislation that would allow such actions.
McKinney's son, Frank E. McKinney, Jr. was named president in 1972 and chairman of the board in 1973. He had helped to greatly expand the bank through acquisition of other banks, especially when banking restrictions were relaxed.
The bank made its first expansion move outside of Marion County by the acquisition of the offices and assets of the failed Shelby National Bank of Shelbyville in Shelby County, from the FDIC for $4.5 million in April 1984. The failed bank was immediately integrated into AFNB.
Just days after a new law went into affect which allowed bank holding companies to own more than one bank and to cross county lines, AFC announced in July 1985 of their pending acquisition of the Union Bank and Trust Co. of Franklin in Johnson County for $10.2 million followed by the August announcement of the pending acquisition of the First American National Bank of Plainfield in Hendricks County for $14.1 million and the September announcement of the pending acquisition of the Carmel Bank & Trust Co. in Hamilton County.
The acquisition of the Union Bank and Trust in Franklin was finalized in December 1985 just after Union Bank opened a branch office in Columbus. State laws at that time would not have allowed AFNB to open an banking office in Columbus, but it allowed AFC a presence in Bartholomew County if Union bank was able to open a banking branch office prior to the merger going into effect.
In February 1986, AFC announced that they were acquiring the Citizens Northern Company, the holding company for the Citizens Northern Bank of Elkhart, for $5 million.
Banc One Indiana
In May 1986, it was announced that AFC was going to merge with the Columbus, Ohio based Banc One Corporation for $597.3 million in stock with American Fletcher National Bank being renamed Bank One Indianapolis and American Fletcher Corporation renamed Banc One, Indiana Corporation.
The other subsidiary banks, Union Bank & Trust Co. of Franklin, First American National Bank of Plainfield, Carmel Bank & Trust Co., and Citizens Northern Bank of Elkhart were renamed Bank One Franklin, Bank One Plainfield, Bank One Carmel and Bank One Elkhart respectively.
The result gave American Fletcher executives 20% of the voting stock in the Banc One Corporation parent company and Frank E. McKinney, Jr. became president of Banc One while still remaining as president and chairman of Banc One Indiana Corp. The merger was finalized on January 27, 1987. McKinney and two other directors of American Fletcher became directors of Banc One Corporation.
After the merger, the other banks that parent Banc One had previous acquired in the state of Indiana, such as Bank One Lafayette, Bank One Merrillville, Bank One Marion, Bank One Crawfordsville, Bank One Rensselaer, Bank One Richmond, and Bank One Bloomington, were placed under the supervision of Banc One Indiana Corporation.
In 1990, the 51-story Bank One Tower at 111 Monument Circle was finally opened after 20 years of planning under American Fletcher.
By March 1997, Banc One completed the consolidation of the dozen or so individual Bank One banks, such as Bank One Indianapolis, Bank One Franklin, Bank One Bloomington, etc., to form a single statewide Bank One Indiana financial institution. Prior to the charter consoldation, customers of one Bank One bank could access their accounts at a different Bank One bank in another county.