[4] First publicly advertised as "A Bank for the Poor", it was modeled after similar institutions in Europe; its stated purpose was to "effect a secure place of deposit for the earnings of the laboring part of the community: and at the same time to give them the benefit of an accumulation of interest". "
They are certainly most admirably calculated to be beneficial to the poor, by promoting among them a spirit of independence, economy and industry.
[8] Following a fire that badly damaged the building, the bank moved on August 15, 1894, from Bleecker to 280 Fourth Avenue at 22nd Street .
[12] Among its founders and first directors were Thomas Eddy, William Bayard Jr., DeWitt Clinton, Archibald Gracie, Cadwallader D. Colden, John Pintard, Matthew Clarkson, Peter Augustus Jay and Brockholst Livingston.
[13][3] Other famous directors included Frederic James de Peyster, a prominent soldier and philanthropist;[14] and politician Hamilton Fish, who stepped down from the board when he became U.S. Secretary of State.