First Pennsylvania Bank

First Pennsylvania Bank was a bank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1782 as the Bank of North America and taking the First Pennsylvania name in a 1955 merger, it was for centuries the oldest bank in the United States until it was acquired by CoreStates Financial Corporation in 1989.^[1]

In the 1970s, First Pennsylvania officials attempted to turn their firm, then a "sedate regional bank", into a major national concern.^[2] Aggressive and risky lending and investments turned the bank into Philadelphia's largest, but in 1980, led to huge losses and panicked depositors. The federal government gave the bank a $500 million bailout,^[1] the first major federal bailout of a national bank.^[2]

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