BANK OF NEW YORK COMPANY, INC., THE

major American bank holding company, headquartered in New York City. The Bank of New York was founded in 1784 and chartered in 1791. From the 1920s to the '60s it merged with a number of other banks, and in 1968 The Bank of New York, Inc., was incorporated as the holding company for the various subsidiaries, including The Bank of New York, much enlarged. In 1969 the holding company assumed the current name. Thereafter it acquired several banking, financial, and investment firms, mostly in New York state but also elsewhere in the United States and overseas. The vigorous expansion was marked especially by the 1988 takeover of the giant Irving Bank Corporation (founded in 1851). The Bank of New York Company oversees commercial banking and trust and investment services for banks, corporations, institutions, and individuals. It conducts national and international wholesale banking services, as well as retail banking services throughout New York state.