[2] The Bank of Italy was established to serve working class citizens of the area, especially Italian Americans living in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood.

The bank survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906,[3] after Amadeo Pietro Giannini saw an approaching fire and filled the bank assets in the back of his horse-drawn cart which he rode to his San Mateo home.

[3] The Bank of Italy building was opened in 1908 and later became a National Historic Landmark.

[2] In 1909, the bank began opening branches in other cities, beginning with San Jose.

Amadeo Giannini and the Bank of Italy were the basis for the classic 1932 Frank Capra movie American Madness, from the original screenplay Faith by Robert Riskin.