Apple Bank for Savings
Encyclopedia
The Apple Bank for Savings provides private and commercial banking services to the greater New York City area. It is the 4th largest New York-based bank and has 50 branches in Manhattan
, Brooklyn
, Queens
, Staten Island
and the Bronx, as well as Westchester, Suffolk
and Nassau
counties. It is based in the Chanin Building
in Manhattan.
The bank offers a standard set of services: savings, checking, money market, investment accounts, student loans, mortgages, and lines of credit. It also offers high-yield internet savings accounts under the Grand Yield Direct brand.
at the time was a suburban village (it was not part of NYC until 1873) and the bank's first location, a storefront on 3rd Avenue
between 125th
and 126th streets, was surrounded by farms and undeveloped lots. Six years later, the bank moved to a building of its own construction on 3rd Ave. and 124th St.
Business grew steadily and the bank had over five thousand depositors by 1876. By 1908, the number grew to over thirty two thousand as Harlem experienced an influx of Jewish and Italian immigrants. At the same time, the bank engaged in construction financing as the area underwent a real-estate boom. The bank continued to do well as the demographics of Harlem changed. By the end of the 1920s, Harlem Savings was the 22nd largest mutual savings bank in the United States. The bank survived the Great Depression without incident. In fact, its strong financial position allowed it to purchase the Commonwealth Savings Bank in 1932. The acquisition provided the bank with two branches in the Washington Heights
neighborhood: on 157th Street and 180th Street, expanding coverage north. In 1933, the bank dropped the second 'a' from its name to match the now-standard spelling of the neighborhood's name.
In the 40s, the bank had several branches in northern Manhattan and one on East 42nd Street
. After the end of World War II
, the middle class began to move into the suburbs and the bank followed suit, opening a branch in Manhasset, New York
, on Long Island
in 1966, and moving its headquarters from Harlem to 42nd street two years later.
to purchase the troubled Central Savings Bank. Created as the German Savings Bank (it was renamed Central Savings Bank during World War I) in 1858, the bank counted Daniel F. Tiemann
, then Mayor of New York as a charter member and operated out of the Cooper Union
building before moving to a location at 14th Street
and 4th Avenue
in 1864. The acquisition gave Haarlem Savings an additional seven branches including the 1928 Apple Bank Building (formerly Central's uptown branch) at 2112 Broadway
between 73rd and 74th Streets, a designated historic landmark designed by the architectural firm York and Sawyer
in Renaissance Palazzo style, as well as two branches in Nassau County on Long Island.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1983.
On the last day of 1986, Apple acquired the Eastern Savings Bank (established as the Bronx Savings Bank in 1905), thus obtaining three branches in the Bronx, two in Westchester, and two on Long Island. Apple now ranked 17th among the New York metropolitan area's thrift institutions, with assets of $2.7 billion.
Another acquisition came in 1989, with the purchase of Sag Harbor Savings Bank - chartered in 1860 in Sag Harbor, New York
, to provide financial services for the whaling industry - for $29.5 million, bringing in five additional branches serving Suffolk County.
In the late 1990s, Apple Bank began an aggressive expansion into Brooklyn, opening 13 branches in that borough since 1997.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
and the Bronx, as well as Westchester, Suffolk
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
and Nassau
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
counties. It is based in the Chanin Building
Chanin Building
The Chanin Building is a brick and terra-cotta skyscraper located at 122 East 42nd Street, at the corner of Lexington Avenue, in Manhattan. Built by Irwin S. Chanin in 1929, it is 56 stories high, reaching excluding the spire and including it...
in Manhattan.
The bank offers a standard set of services: savings, checking, money market, investment accounts, student loans, mortgages, and lines of credit. It also offers high-yield internet savings accounts under the Grand Yield Direct brand.
History
Apple Bank began its life in 1863 as the Haarlem Savings Bank. It was established by a group of local merchants as a community-based mutual savings bank: a bank that is owned by its depositors. HarlemHarlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
at the time was a suburban village (it was not part of NYC until 1873) and the bank's first location, a storefront on 3rd Avenue
Third Avenue (Manhattan)
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Cooper Square north for over 120 blocks. Third Avenue continues into The Bronx across the Harlem River over the Third Avenue Bridge north of East 129th Street to East Fordham Road at...
between 125th
125th Street (Manhattan)
125th Street is a two-way street that runs east-west in the New York City borough of Manhattan, considered the "Main Street" of Harlem; It is also called Martin Luther King, Jr...
and 126th streets, was surrounded by farms and undeveloped lots. Six years later, the bank moved to a building of its own construction on 3rd Ave. and 124th St.
Business grew steadily and the bank had over five thousand depositors by 1876. By 1908, the number grew to over thirty two thousand as Harlem experienced an influx of Jewish and Italian immigrants. At the same time, the bank engaged in construction financing as the area underwent a real-estate boom. The bank continued to do well as the demographics of Harlem changed. By the end of the 1920s, Harlem Savings was the 22nd largest mutual savings bank in the United States. The bank survived the Great Depression without incident. In fact, its strong financial position allowed it to purchase the Commonwealth Savings Bank in 1932. The acquisition provided the bank with two branches in the Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
neighborhood: on 157th Street and 180th Street, expanding coverage north. In 1933, the bank dropped the second 'a' from its name to match the now-standard spelling of the neighborhood's name.
In the 40s, the bank had several branches in northern Manhattan and one on East 42nd Street
42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...
. After the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the middle class began to move into the suburbs and the bank followed suit, opening a branch in Manhasset, New York
Manhasset, New York
Manhasset is a hamlet and neighborhood in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 8,080....
, on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
in 1966, and moving its headquarters from Harlem to 42nd street two years later.
Absorbing the Central Savings Bank
The early 1980s proved to be a difficult time for financial institutions, but Harlem Savings fared better than most. In 1981 it used a $160 million grant from the FDICFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
to purchase the troubled Central Savings Bank. Created as the German Savings Bank (it was renamed Central Savings Bank during World War I) in 1858, the bank counted Daniel F. Tiemann
Daniel F. Tiemann
Daniel Fawcett Tiemann was the mayor of New York from 1858 to 1860. He was a founding trustee of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Tiemann was an industrialist, who lived in Manhattanville where he owned D.F. Tiemann & Company Paint & Color Works which manufactured pigments...
, then Mayor of New York as a charter member and operated out of the Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
building before moving to a location at 14th Street
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
and 4th Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
in 1864. The acquisition gave Haarlem Savings an additional seven branches including the 1928 Apple Bank Building (formerly Central's uptown branch) at 2112 Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
between 73rd and 74th Streets, a designated historic landmark designed by the architectural firm York and Sawyer
York and Sawyer
The architectural firm of York and Sawyer produced many outstanding structures, exemplary of Beaux-Arts architecture as it was practiced in the United States. The partners Edward York and Philip Sawyer had both trained in the office of McKim, Mead, and White...
in Renaissance Palazzo style, as well as two branches in Nassau County on Long Island.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1983.
Suburban expansion and name change
In the '70s and early '80s, the bank's expansion into the suburbs was hindered by its name as it evoked images of "drugs, crime, and general deterioration". When the bank was building a branch in Massapequa, Long Island, in 1978, the plate-glass windows had to be replaced seven times after they were shattered by bricks. Despite some investment in the Harlem name, Jerome McDougal - chairman and CEO of the bank at the time - decided that a change was needed if the bank was to survive and expand. The Apple name and logo was created by a small consulting firm, Selame Design, in 1983. Despite some feeling that the name was undignified for a financial institution, McDougal pushed it through. Within the first month of the name change, Apple Bank gained 4,943 new accounts - three times the normal rate - and $116 million in deposits, compared to a loss of $26 million during the corresponding period in 1982.On the last day of 1986, Apple acquired the Eastern Savings Bank (established as the Bronx Savings Bank in 1905), thus obtaining three branches in the Bronx, two in Westchester, and two on Long Island. Apple now ranked 17th among the New York metropolitan area's thrift institutions, with assets of $2.7 billion.
Another acquisition came in 1989, with the purchase of Sag Harbor Savings Bank - chartered in 1860 in Sag Harbor, New York
Sag Harbor, New York
Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, with parts in both the Towns of East Hampton and Southampton. The population was 2,313 at the 2000 census....
, to provide financial services for the whaling industry - for $29.5 million, bringing in five additional branches serving Suffolk County.
In the late 1990s, Apple Bank began an aggressive expansion into Brooklyn, opening 13 branches in that borough since 1997.
Ownership
In 1985, Apple converted from a mutual savings bank to a stock-issuing public institution, selling 4.6 million shares for a total of $53.5 million. In 1990, a prominent real estate developer and investor Stanley Stahl became the sole stockholder of the bank when he paid about $170 million. In August 1999, Stahl died and the bank is controlled by his estate.Financials
- The bank had after-tax income of $20.5 million in 2009.
- The bank's deposits exceeded $5.9 billion in 2009.