It was founded in 1829 and operated until 1990, when it was seized by the U.S. Government for being insolvent and its assets were sold to Chase Bank.

[2] The bank moved its headquarters several times, but always remained in the financial district of New York City.

The bank building features an archway adorned with maritime-themed ornamentation, including ships and mermaids.

It expanded its services and customer base beyond the maritime sector, offering various deposit and loan products.

[5] However, the bank suffered losses from bad loans and investments, and failed to meet the capital requirements set by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).