Old Stone Bank

History

In 1969, Old Stone Corporation was formed as the holding company for the savings bank.

In the early 1970s the bank adopted as its mascot and "spokesperson" cartoon character Fred Flintstone, who would say in commercials "Yabba-dabba-doo, love that Old Stone Bank!"

The bank's ATMs were called "Ready Freddy".

Old Stone Bank collapsed in the 1980s when the federal government convinced it to take over two failed savings and loan institutions, but reneged on its promise that it would not hurt the bank to do so.

In 1992, Old Stone filed a lawsuit against the government alleging breach of contract. They were awarded $192 million in 2004, but an appeals court reduced the award to 74.5 million, and the Supreme Court declined to hear a further appeal.

The savings bank was seized by the Office of Thrift Supervision on January 29, 1993. In July 1994, Providence-based Citizens Bank, a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group which was in turn a subsidiary of the Scottish Royal Bank of Scotland Group, acquired all of the deposits and some of the offfices of Old Stone from the Resolution Trust Corporation for $133.6 million. As a result of the merger, Citizens closed 11 of the 28 of the former Old Stone branches along with 7 Citizens branches since there was extensive branch overlaps with the two banking organizations.

Interstate expansion

In its first expansion move, Old Stone Corporation acquired the ailing Seattle, Washington-based Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association for an undisclosed amount with the assistance of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. This federal bailout had cost the tax payers $78.7 million. The new acquisition was renamed Old Stone Bank of Washington. Five years later, Old Stone sold its Washington savings bank to Washington Mutual in June 1990 for $10 million.

Old Stone Bank Building

The landmark Old Stone Bank Building, from which the bank derived its popular nickname and which housed the bank's flagship branch, is located on South Main Street in Providence. The granite edifice with a distinctive gold leaf, spired dome was designed by C.J. and R.J. Hall in 1854 and is a prime example of the style of bank architecture, prevalent from the mid-19th to the mid-20th Century, which communicated stability, strength and permanence.

It was sold by the Resolution Trust Corporation to Brown University for $1.15 million in 1995 to house the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology's collection of Native American artifacts. In 1999 Brown decided it was unfeasible to house the collection in the building as the necessary alterations would have altered the historic character of the building. In April 2009 Brown sold the building to Gold Dome Properties, LLC for $2.14 million.