First Women's Bank of California

Last updated
The First Women's Bank of California
FoundedNovember 1976 [1]
Headquarters12301 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, California
Area served
Southern California
Key people
Julann Griffin, Cappy Fogel

The First Women's Bank of California was a Los Angeles-based bank dedicated to helping women save money and establish credit. [2] It operated from 1976 until its sale in 1984. [3]

The bank was founded by a group of area businesswomen, which included Virginia Mullan, Laura Liswood, "Cappy"(Gladys) Fogel, [4] Betty Lessner, Veryl Mortenson, Lee Agajanian, Dianne Freestone (Modisett) Kully, Helene Beck [5] and Julann Elizabeth Wright Griffin. Griffin is the former wife of producer/entertainer Merv Griffin, and she was instrumental in convincing celebrities to buy stock in the bank and open accounts. [6]

Florence Henderson was the bank's first customer, and eventually Jane Fonda, Loretta Swit, Phyllis Diller, Farrah Fawcett, and Anne Bancroft all had accounts there. [7]

The bank's mission was generally feminist. The bank therefore focused managing women’s money, especially after divorce, although the bank’s founders publicly disavowed feminism as their mission on several occasions. [8]

Ironically, when the bank’s board members first searched for a CEO, they were unable to find a qualified woman. Therefore, Rowan Henry, a man, was hired. [9] By late 1976, more than $1.5 million in First Women’s Bank stock had been sold to about 1,300 shareholders, 63% of whom were women.

Asked in Occidental College’s alumni magazine what it meant to be a bank for women, board member Dianne Modisett answered, "It means that we eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex. An individual must still qualify for credit or a loan, but if she doesn't, we want to assist her in becoming qualified…It doesn't make any difference to us whether the woman is single, married, divorced, or widowed." [10]

First Women's Bank was sold in 1984 for $2.7 million and reorganized as the Guaranty Bank of California, now GBC International Bank. [11]

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References

  1. ↑ The Bankers Magazine. Warren, Gorham & Lamont, Incorporated. 1964. p. 104.
  2. ↑ Busteed, Belinda (December 12, 1976). "First Women's Bank 'Walking a Tightrope'". Pasadena Star-News. p. 19. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "Last Of 3 'Women's Banks' In California Alters Identity". Toledo Blade. August 23, 1984. p. 40. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  4. ↑ https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/gladys-fogel-obituary?id=52503813
  5. ↑ "Fallbrook grove's treasures". 19 January 2016.
  6. ↑ https://fluvannareview.com/2016/06/by-christina-dimeo-2/
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Warren, Virginia Lee (1975-09-17). "When a Bank Run by Women Opens, The Reason Is Not Always Feminism". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  9. ↑ Times Staff (November 16, 1976). "Bank Featuring Services for Women Opens: Bank For Women". Los Angeles Times: 1.
  10. ↑ Thomas, Susan; Peter, Susan (December 1976). "First women's bank: Dianne Modisett '64". Occidental College Alumni Magazine: 31.
  11. ↑ "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
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