Citizens Fidelity Bank and Trust Company (Louisville, Ky.) Records, 1912-1986

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Citizens Fidelity Bank and Trust Company (Louisville, Ky.)

Title:  Records, 1912-1986

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Curator of Special Collections.

Size of Collection:  1 cu. ft.

Location Number:  Mss. BB C581

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of nine folders and three bound volumes documenting the business activities of the Citizens Fidelity Bank & Trust Company as well as predecessor institutions. Documents include articles of incorporation, by-laws, amendments, shareholder communications, merger documents, publications, a legal deposition, a 1922 consolidation agreement, acquisition papers, and a 1968 memorandum on the construction of Citizens Plaza (now PNC Plaza). The bulk of materials relate directly to the Citizens Fidelity Bank & Trust Company. The legal deposition is related to the Citizens Union National Bank; articles of incorporation and by-laws are present for both the Citizens Fidelity Bank & Trust Company and the Fidelity & Columbia Trust Company; and the acquisition papers are those of the Citizens Fidelity Corporation, acting as holding company, acquiring Citizens Fidelity Bank & Trust Company in 1974.

 

Historical Note

The Citizens Fidelity Bank and Trust Company of Louisville, Ky. was formed in 1944 by the merger of the Citizens Union National Bank and the Fidelity & Columbia Trust Company. The two merged companies each consisted of several previously merged entities, including the Citizens National Bank, the Union National Bank, the Fidelity Trust Company, Columbia Finance and Trust Company, the Merchants Deposit Bank, Citizens Bank, and the Mechanics Trust Company, all of Louisville, Ky. A bank holding company, Citizens Financial Corporation, took ownership of the bank in 1974.

The earliest entity from which the company evolved was the Merchants Deposit Bank, founded in Louisville in 1858. In 1863, the bank changed its name to the Citizens Bank, and the first president of this iteration was W. B. Belknap of the Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Company of Louisville. The bank was chartered as a National Bank in 1874 and became Citizens National Bank. The Fidelity Trust Company opened in 1882, later merged with the Columbia Trust Company. In 1987 Citizens Fidelity Corporation, parent company of Citizens Fidelity Bank & Trust Company was acquired by PNC Financial Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pa.

Beginning in 1971, the company was headquartered in Citizens Plaza, a 29-story building designed by Welton Becket and constructed at 5th and Jefferson Sts. in downtown Louisville. After PNC purchased the Citizens Fidelity Bank & Trust Company, the building was renamed PNC Plaza.

 

Folder List

Folder 1: Shareholder Correspondence, 1944-1986

Folder 2: Governance, 1976

Folder 3: Minute book, 1973

Folder 4: Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, 1912-1944

Folder 5: Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, 1922-1973

Folder 6: Trust and Consolidation Agreements, 1919, 1944

Folder 7: Legal Papers, 1939-1940

Folder 8: Building Memorandum, 1968

Folder 9: Publications, 1958

Volume 10: Acquisition of Citizens Fidelity Bank & Trust Company, Vol. I, 1974

Volume 11: Acquisition of Citizens Fidelity Bank & Trust Company, Vol. II, 1974

Volume 12: Corporate Proceedings for Consolidation of the Citizens Union National Bank and Fidelity and Columbia Trust Company, October 1, 1944

 

Subject Headings

Banks and banking – Kentucky – Louisville

Banks and banking – Records and correspondence

Charters and articles of incorporation

Consolidation and merger of corporations

Corporate governance – Kentucky – Louisville

Corporations – Investor relations

PNC Plaza (Louisville, Ky.)

Trust companies – Kentucky – Louisville