Every American knows George Bailey, the fictional character Jimmy Stewart brought to life in Frank Capra’s classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life. But too few Americans know the real-life American upon whom Capra based the local hero banker—A.P. Giannini, who founded the Bank of Italy, which would become the Bank of America.
Though there’s a long list of heroes and heroines—from Capra to Cabrini to Coppola—worth celebrating as Italian-American Heritage Month comes to a close, the story of this relatively unknown man who forever changed how—and with whom—banks in America do business may be the most impactful of them all. His improbable ascent in the banking world was not predicated on serving the wealthy elites of San Francisco, but the working-class Italian-American immigrants living in the North Beach neighborhood, and local first-generation Chinese, Mexican and Irish immigrants ignored by banks of the day. Amadeo Pietro Giannini—known as A.P.—was born in San Jose, California in 1870, the son of immigrant parents from Genoa, Italy.
When he was 7, tragedy struck when his father died in a fight over a dollar. His mother remarried to a teamster who started a produce business. Giannini, believing he could learn more about business working with his stepfather, cut short his formal education at the age of 15.
It would prove to be the first of many bold moves by the natural-born entrepreneur. By 19, he’d earned his way to a partnership. By 31, after helping turn the company he worked for into the leading produce wholesaler in San Francisco, he sold his stake in the business to his employees.
That didn’t sit well with him. Where his industry saw only risk, Giannini saw opportunity. In 1904, Giannini quit the board and started the Bank of Italy, and went about proving the industry wrong—serving populations ignored by his competitors.” Little did he know that an entire industry was about to be disrupted—and change American life in ways even Giannini himself could not have imagined.
His approach was an immediate success. By 1905, bank deposits had risen to $700,000 and were climbing rapidly. Giannini was on his way to serving the growing working-class population of his city with the credit they deserved.
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