PNC Financial Services

Lore & Background

PNC Financial Services traces its history to the Pittsburgh Trust and Savings Company, founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 10, 1845. Due to the long recovery from the Great Fire of Pittsburgh, it was not fully operational until January 28, 1852. It originally opened offices at Liberty Avenue and 12th Street. The bank was renamed The Pittsburgh Trust Company in 1853. In 1858, the company relocated its corporate offices to the corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street in Pittsburgh, where they remain to this day. The bank changed its name to First National Bank of Pittsburgh in 1863 after it became the first bank in the country to apply for a national charter as part of that year's National Banking Act. It received the 48th charter on August 5, 1863. In 1946, First National merged with Peoples-Pittsburgh Trust Company to form Peoples First National Bank & Trust. In 1959, Peoples First merged with Fidelity Trust Company to form Pittsburgh National Bank. At this time, the bank adopted the first version of its present logo – a stylized triangle representing the city's Golden Triangle. Another branch of the current bank, the Philadelphia-based Provident National Corporation, dates back to 1865. In 1982, Pittsburgh National Corporation and Provident National Corporation, both with PNC as their abbreviations, merged into a new entity named PNC Financial Corporation. It was the largest bank merger in American history at the time and created a company with $10.3 billion in assets. Between 1991 and 1996, PNC purchased more than ten smaller banks and financial institutions, including the $30 billion dollar merger of Midlantic Bank of Edison New Jersey in 1996. Since 1984, PNC has compiled the Christmas Price Index. In 1998, PNC acquired Hilliard Lyons for $275 million in cash and stock. Hilliard Lyons was sold in 2008. In 1998, PNC sold its credit card business to Metris (now HSBC Finance) and MBNA. In 2000, the company adopted a new brand image and changed its name to PNC Financial Services Group. In 2001, PNC sold the original PNC Mortgage to Washington Mutual. In 2004, PNC acquired United National Bancorp based in Bridgewater, New Jersey, for $321 million in cash and 6.6 million shares of its common stock. In 2005, PNC acquired Riggs National Corporation of Washington, D. C. In 2005, PNC began outsourcing mortgages to Wells Fargo.

Reader's Guide

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Did You Know?

• PNC has compiled the Christmas Price Index since 1984, a humorous economic indicator estimating the prices of items in the song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'.
• In 2012, PNC acquired RBC Bank USA for $3.45 billion, adding 426 branches in the southeastern United States.