Written by Lanan Nguyen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – America's oldest bank is getting a new name.
Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:) is adopting BNY as its new moniker, it announced Tuesday. The company also unveiled signs in large letters bearing the three-letter name at its head offices.
Since its founding 240 years ago by Alexander Hamilton, the U.S. Founding Father immortalized in a Broadway musical, the Bank of New York has grown to oversee $48.8 trillion in assets and act as a bank for other financial institutions, known as custodians. The new name is part of an effort to expand BNY's image to include its other businesses, including markets, wealth and investment management.
BNY is the longest continuously operating corporation in New York City, and its founding predates the signing of the United States Constitution in 1787.
“While we have long been known as reliable and resilient, existing and thriving for more than two centuries also requires a sustained focus on innovation,” CEO Robin Vince wrote in a memo to employees on Tuesday.
Since taking over in March 2022, Vince has brought in new leadership and focused on growth in areas such as real-time payments and artificial intelligence, while enhancing efficiency. The executive spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs, where he rose to become its chief risk officer.
BNY stock is up about 14% in 2024, compared to 10% for a broader group of bank stocks. Its earnings per share and revenue rose last year.
“The Bank of New York today is more expansive” than its traditional custody business, said Ken Ousden, an analyst at Jefferies. “Market and wealth services are the largest business segment, the most profitable and the fastest growing… The company has rightly emphasized this direction of travel.”
The bank's rebranding was its first since downsizing to BNY Mellon 17 years ago. It follows a trend toward brevity on Wall Street after decades of mergers and acquisitions that led to ever longer names.
BNY also introduced a new teal arrow-shaped logo that precedes its capitalized name, already a widely used abbreviation in financial circles. Some of its divisions will also be renamed: BNY Investments, BNY Wealth and BNY Pershing.
The bank's legal name will remain the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.