The summer of 1914 is most often remembered for Europe’s fall into an unprecedented war. Overshadowed by events in Europe, few remember that in America at the same moment the era of immigrant banking came to an end. Found throughout the country, immigrant banks were business that provided financial services in foreign languages to new immigrants. By taking deposits, selling ship tickets, offering small loans, transferring funds overseas, these foreign-languages enterprises were far from a negligible force in American finance: the US Commission on Immigration found in 1909 alone, immigrant banks transferred over $300,000,000 overseas. By deploying innovative credit mechanisms, these banks shaped the very process of migration and immigrant incorporation into the United States. Moreover, the credit that these institutions offered to immigrants by selling ship tickets on installment directly contributed to immigrants’ ability to come to America and their economic success once they arrived.
This paper excavates the lost world of immigrant banking. It highlights how New York State’s banking authorities led the way in creating regulation to eradicate immigrant banks from the landscape of American finance. My paper will reflect upon why failed immigrant “bankers” have been written out of history despite the fact that their failures reshaped the regulation of American finance as the precedent set in New York State shaped a larger reform movement throughout the nation. These private unincorporated banks may have faded into history, but the debates they launched over immigration, access to credit and banking reform continue to this day. By recalling the place of immigrant banks in early-twentieth century New York, this paper examines the long-standing relationship between credit access, banking regulation and immigration in American history.