Melvin Alvah Traylor (1878 – 1934) was an American lawyer and banker who became president of the First Union Trust and Savings Bank in 1928, which would go on to become Chicago's largest bank during his time, and became president of the American Bankers' Association.

He spoke out on the financial causes of the Great Depression and gained national attention, appearing on the cover of Time Magazine on November 21, 1932.

[1] He was considered a possible Democratic candidate for president in 1932 but he did not pursue this candidacy, though he received approximately 40 votes on each of the first three ballots at the convention.

He served as president of the American Bankers' Association, president of the Shedd Aquarium Society, and trustee of the Newberry Library, Northwestern University, and of Berea College.

He died after a long battle with pneumonia on February 14, 1934, in Chicago, Cook Co.