MUFG Americas Holdings history

The history of Union Bank & Trust Co. begins in 1887 when “Monticello Bank” was originally chartered.

In 1908, H.M. Victor raised funds by selling 1,000 Union National shares at $100 each.

In 1914, he founded the Kaspare Cohn Commercial & Savings Bank.

That spirit of successful cooperation was the initial catalyst for the two banks to begin working toward future growth together, and on September 15th, 1915 Citizens Bank of Monticello and Monticello Bank merged into one entity: Union Bank and Trust Co.

Kaspare Cohn died in 1916 and was followed by Ben Meyer as president of the bank.

In 1918, the name of the bank was changed to Union Bank & Trust Company.

In 1922, the bank was growing at such a fast rate that it opened a new headquarters on Eighth and Hill Streets and, just five years later, the bank's continued growth required an enlargement and significant improvement of these facilities.

BTMU Brazil began in 1926 with Casa Tozan, a banking house established to serve the growing coffee export business.

Union National benefitted from the booming local economy and despite the 1929 stock market crash, survived the Great Depression.

After Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Bank Holiday Proclamation in 1933, Union Bank was one of the banks allowed to reopen for business.

Ben Meyer retired in 1950, and Herman Hahn, an executive with 20 years service in Union Bank, became president.

In 1957, the bank appointed Harry J. Volk to serve as president.

By 1958, Union National was primed for expansion and acquired the First National Bank of Ashville.

The year 1967 was one of the most important years in the history of Union Bank.

The holding company, Union Bancorp (subsequently changed to Unionamerica, Inc. in 1969) was formed to assume the ownership of Union Bank and to create new opportunities for expanding into diversified areas of financial services.

By 1972, the bank's deposits in its Northern California regional office were greater than those of the entire bank.

In 1985, with lobbying from First Union and state local banks, the state legislature passed the Southeastern Regional Banking Compact, a law allowing North Carolina banks to open branches in other states, while forbidding other banks from entering North Carolina.

One of the surprises within the state banking industry occurred when the Bank of Tokyo, a Japanese-based bank holding company, purchased Union Bank in October of 1988.

To reflect the new ownership structure, and in compliance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990, it assumed the name Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. (UBN “the Bank” or “Union Bank”).

In 1993, in line with its privatisation/commercialisation drive, the Federal Government divested by selling its controlling shares (51.67%) to private investors.

In late 1995, it was announced that Union Bank of San Francisco planned to merge with the Bank of California in order to form the largest foreign-owned bank in the United States.

Merger with the Bank of California in 1996

In 1998, First Union acquired CoreStates Financial, a large Philadelphia based institution and the Money Store, an aggressive, northeastern finance company specializing in home equity loans.

Despite these problems, in 2001 First Union made another seminal purchase by acquiring Winston-Salem based Wachovia National Bank.

In October 2005, MUFG was inaugurated via the merger of Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group and UFJ Holdings

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ was created in 2006.

In 2008, during the heart of the financial crises, Wells Fargo, a strong California based bank, purchased Wachovia officially ending Wachovia’s one hundred year run as an independent bank.

Sources: Rick Rothacker, Banktown, (Winston-Salem, 2010).

UGPL acquired 65% of the bank’s shareholding and in the last quarter of 2014, AMCON’s remaining 20% stake in the bank was acquired by Atlas Mara.

In 2018, BTMU, and its related entities, were renamed "MUFG Bank, Ltd."

©2021 Union Bank, Inc.