COMPANYHISTORIES
NAIC 522291

Consumer Lending

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

37companies1727–2000founding years36still active1no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedThe Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc
1727
FoundedCitigroup Inc.
1812
FoundedEmigrant Savings Bank
1850
FoundedApple Bank for Savings
1863
FoundedHVB Group
1869
FoundedGeneral Electric Company
1892
FoundedPopular, Inc.
1893
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedGeneral Motors Corporation
1916
FoundedTCF Financial Corporation
1923
FoundedNissan Motor Co., Ltd.
1933
FoundedVolkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
1938
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedCommerzbank A.G.
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
FoundedWorld Acceptance Corporation
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedAmerican Express Company
1965
FoundedJ.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
1968
FoundedSynovus Financial Corp.
1972
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedWFS Financial Inc.
1988
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
FoundedOnyx Acceptance Corporation
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc →
Active · founded 1727 · United Kingdom
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc ranks as the leading Scotland-based banking group and the number three bank in the…
FleetBoston Financial Corporation →
Defunct · founded 1791
FleetBoston Financial Corporation is the eighth largest bank in the United States and the largest in New England, with…
Citigroup Inc. →
Active · founded 1812
The largest financial services company in the world, with assets in excess of $1 trillion, Citigroup Inc.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited →
Active · founded 1835 · Australia
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) is the second largest of the "Big Four" banks in Australia,…
Emigrant Savings Bank →
Active · founded 1850
Paul Milstein, along with his sons Howard and Edward, filed an unsuccessful lawsuit in 2000 seeking to remove Philip…
Credit Suisse Group →
Active · founded 1856 · Switzerland
Credit Suisse Group, which began as a commercial bank in 1856, at a time when Switzerland was first embracing the…
Apple Bank for Savings →
Active · founded 1863
Under the new chief executive, William J.
Lloyds TSB Group plc →
Active · founded 1865 · United Kingdom
Lloyds TSB Group plc is one of the Big Four British clearing banks in the United Kingdom.
HVB Group →
Active · founded 1869 · Germany
Early 1920s:BV allies itself with Bayerische Handelsbank AG.
Grupo Financiero Banamex S.A. →
Active · founded 1884 · Mexico
Grupo Financiero Banamex S.A.
General Electric Company →
Active · founded 1892
The history of General Electric Company is a significant part of the history of technology in the United States.
Banco de Chile →
Active · founded 1893 · Chile
Banco de Chile is the second largest private bank in Chile and the largest that remains under Chilean ownership.
Popular, Inc. →
Active · founded 1893
Popular, Inc.
UBS AG →
Active · founded 1912 · Switzerland
UBS AG was formed from the 1998 megamerger of Swiss Bank Corporation and Union Bank of Switzerland.
General Motors Corporation →
Active · founded 1916
General Motors Corporation (GM) is the world's largest full-line vehicle manufacturer and marketer.
Amalgamated Bank →
Active · founded 1923
Also in 1998, Amalgamated acquired an 81 percent stake in the First Trade Union Trust Company.
TCF Financial Corporation →
Active · founded 1923
TCF Financial Corporation, a financial holding company that compares itself to large successful retailers instead of…
Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer S.A. →
Active · founded 1932 · Mexico
Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer S.A.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1933 · Japan
Early 1940s:During World War II, the company makes military trucks and engines for airplanes and torpedo boats.
S.A.C.I. Falabella →
Active · founded 1937 · Chile
S.A.C.I.
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft →
Active · founded 1938 · Germany
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, a company born in the shadow of Nazism, rose to become the world's third largest…
Nippon Shinpan Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1951 · Japan
One of Japan's leading consumer lending companies, Nippon Shinpan Co., Ltd.
Commerzbank A.G. →
Active · founded 1958 · Germany
Commerzbank A.G.
Malayan Banking Berhad →
Active · founded 1960 · Malaysia
Malayan Banking Berhad is the holding company overseeing Malaysia's largest bank, Maybank and a range of financial…
World Acceptance Corporation →
Active · founded 1962
A provider of consumer loans, World Acceptance Corporation focuses mainly on the subprime market, comprised of…
Industria de Diseño Textil S.A. →
Active · founded 1963 · Spain
Industria de Diseño Textil S.A., also known as The Inditex Group, is one of the world's leading and fastest-growing…
American Express Company →
Active · founded 1965
American Express Company, a multibillion-dollar holding company whose subsidiaries provide travel and financial…
Genting Bhd. →
Active · founded 1965 · Malaysia
Genting Bhd.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. →
Active · founded 1968
J.P.
Wells Fargo & Company →
Active · founded 1968
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company, ranking as the seventh largest bank holding company…
Synovus Financial Corp. →
Active · founded 1972
Synovus Financial Corp.
Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. →
Active · founded 1982 · Australia
Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd.
WFS Financial Inc. →
Active · founded 1988
WFS Financial Inc.
Saab Automobile AB →
Active · founded 1990 · Sweden
Saab Automobile AB is a Swedish maker of passenger automobiles in the premium sector of the market.
Onyx Acceptance Corporation →
Active · founded 1993
The economy continued to be unsettled into 2003.
Metris Companies Inc. →
Active · founded 1996
Metris Companies Inc., a financial products and services provider, has risen quickly in the industry by targeting the…
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. →
Active · founded 2000 · Argentina
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A.
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