The bank quickly began to expand by adding services and branches, and moving into larger headquarters buildings.

PSFS quickly began expanding into other fields such as corporate finance, mutual funds, and real estate development.

The new business venture led to the company losing millions of dollars; it was forced to sell off many of its subsidiaries and PSFS bank branches.

This growth became the topic of numerous journals and pamphlets, some of which were brought to the attention of Philadelphia businessman Condy Raguet in late November 1816.

[4] Interested in the idea, Raguet approached associates, Richard Peters, Clement C. Biddle and Thomas Hale on creating a similar institution in Philadelphia.

[6] On December 4, 1816, the Articles of Association, which contain the earliest written use of the name Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, were adopted.

[8][9] PSFS grew slowly, but as early as August 1817 there were resolutions authorizing setting up branch offices outside of Philadelphia in Northern Liberties and Southwark.

The latter office proved too small, so PSFS quickly bought its own building elsewhere on Walnut Street and moved there on October 2, 1827.

Designed by architect Addison Hutton construction began in 1868 and the PSFS Headquarters building was opened for business on October 11, 1869.

The modern skyscraper was designed by George Howe and William Lescaze and is topped with the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society's initials in 27 feet (8.2 m) red neon letters.

[24] The United States in the 1970s saw numerous changes to personal finance such as the advent of credit cards, money-market funds and automated teller machines.

PSFS soon began expanding into new services such as equipment leasing, corporate finance and real estate development.

In January 1984, PSFS began expanding into financial service by buying a loan portfolio and mortgage business from General Electric Credit Corp. for US$568 million (equivalent to $1.41 billion in 2023).

[1] In April 1985, the company acquired four savings and loans in Florida and began paying five cents per share quarterly dividend to stockholders.

In 1986, Meritor began operating mutual funds through a subsidiary, completing the transition to a full-service financial institution.

[2] In January 1988 venture capitalist Frank Slattery bought 5.5 percent of Meritor's stock, becoming the controlling shareholder.

Slattery began pushing for changes and in June, with help from others, was able to demote chairman and CEO Frederick S. Hammer to president and replace him with Roger S. Hillas.

Not helping matters was a poor commercial real-estate market that left Meritor with empty Philadelphia office buildings and half-finished suburban strip shopping malls valued at fractions of their original cost.

On December 4, Meritor sold off its Florida-based savings and loan subsidiary, the company's last out-of-state banking operation.

In 1993 Slattery—who had long opposed government interference in business—sued the FDIC, claiming regulators reneged on their 1982 promise to permit goodwill in the company's merger with Western Savings Fund Society.

The lawsuit kept the stock for the now defunct company alive with speculators buying shares for as little as 5 cents with hopes of a government payout to settle the case.

[32] In Slattery (Meritor Savings) v. U.S., after losing before a three-judge panel of the Federal Circuit, the government petitioned for a rehearing en banc.

In order to find the FDIC a NAFI, the government is arguing that Congress has no obligation to honor its promises to back deposits with the full faith and credit of the United States.