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Barnett Bank of South Florida, National Association (Miami, Fla.)
Title, Dates:
Barnett Bank of South Florida records, 1964-1997.
Amount:
25.00 v. 3.75 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
photographs
Organization/Arrangement:
By record types(subject files, photographs, scrapbooks), then chronologically by years.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
Westchester Bank of Dade County opened in June 1964 aiming to provide a complete banking service for residents of the populous Westchester suburban area. As one of the fastest growing banks in Dade County, Westchester Bank moved to its permanent location in July 1965 and expanded its facilities shortly thereafter. Westchester Bank became the first bank in Florida to install a visual audio teller system and experienced significant growth into the 1970s.
In 1963, Guy W. Botts was President and CEO of the Barnett Banks in Jacksonville, Florida. At that time, Florida's banking laws prohibited branch banking and kept the state's banks relatively small. To be competitive, Botts developed a 10-year plan for expansion and concentrated on developing a network of Banks throughout Florida. His approach was to use the existing holding company, Barnett National Securities Corporation, to acquire or establish banks in each of the 20 most populous counties in Florida.
In 1965, Botts announced a plan for Barnett National Securities Corporation, which had been a subsidiary of the Jacksonville bank, to become the parent company by purchasing the stock of the Barnett First National Bank of Jacksonville. This gave Botts greater flexibility in using the holding company to purchase additional banks. In 1969, Barnett National Securities Corporation became Barnett Banks of Florida, Inc. In 1972, Barnett Banks of Florida, Inc. took over Westchester Bank to form the Barnett Bank at Westchester. In 1977, Barnett Banks of Miami Beach, Midway, Bay Harbor Islands, Westchester, and Miami merged to form Barnett Bank of Miami.
In July 1981, Barnett Bank of Miami merged with the Barnett Banks of Broward County and Homestead to form Barnett Bank of South Florida. By 1982, Barnett Bank of South Florida maintained the largest network of banking offices in Florida. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s, Barnett Banks of Florida, Inc. maintained its status as one of Florida's top holding companies. On April 24, 1987, Barnett Banks of Florida, Inc. became Barnett Banks, Inc. In 1997 in a $15.5 billion-dollar deal, the largest in the history of banking industry at that time, NationsBank acquired Barnett Banks, Inc. Subsequently, in 1999, NationsBank and BankAmerica merged to form a national bank, Bank of America.
Summary:
The series documents the organization, operations, and activities of Westchester Bank of Dade County, later Barnett Bank of South Florida. It consists of 25 scrapbooks containing Barnett Bank advertisements, newspapers articles, constituent correspondence, programs of events, invitations, bank pamphlets, brochures and hand-bills, employee photographs, magazine articles, stock reports, and various other memorabilia pertaining to Barnett Bank.
The first three scrapbooks contain information on the Westchester National Bank of Dade County and several other Dade County banks: Miami Beach, Brickell, and Midway. Most of the scrapbooks contain information on the Barnett Bank of Miami (1977-1981) and the Barnett Bank of South Florida (1982-1991). Although a lot of the contents of the scrapbooks are repetitive and have little overall historical value, the collection shows the various advertising and marketing trends of Barnett Bank, its relationship with the public and media, and its influence on the political and financial arenas in Florida.
The contents of the scrapbooks also provide a history of the growth and expansion of Barnett Banks of Florida, Inc. in Miami and Dade County, beginning with the establishment of the Westchester Bank of Dade County, and eventual mergers with other Barnett Banks in South Florida. The scrapbooks also contain a pictorial history of Barnett Bank and its growth and development from 1964 to 1991.
The collection also contains subject files and photographs on the bank's activities in the 1970s and 1980s. The subject files include grand opening ceremonies of Barnett Bank of Miami Beach in 1975, memories album from 1975 to 1980, and certificates of appreciation from Metropolitan Dade County.
Finding Aids:
Folder and volume listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
General Note:
This collection was arranged and described from materials obtained from Barnett Banks, Inc. when the Barnett Bank records were transferred to the Florida State Archives between 1999 and 2002.
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Botts, Guy Warren, 1914-1993
Barnett Bank of Bay Harbor Island. Barnett Bank of Miami Beach. Barnett Bank of Miami, National Association (Miami, Fla.) Barnett Bank of Midway. Barnett Bank of South Florida, National Association (Miami, Fla.) Barnett Bank at Westchester, National Association. Barnett Banks Barnett National Securities Corporation (Jacksonville, Fla.) Westchester Bank of Dade County.
Bank buildings Florida Bank mergers Florida Banks and banking History Florida.
Clippings. aat Photographs. aat Scrapbooks. aat
Dade County (Fla.) Miami (Fla.) Miami Beach (Fla.)
for detailed listing.