Frost Bank

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc.

Headquarters at Frost Tower
Company type	Public
Traded as	NYSE:  CFR S&P 400 component Russell 1000 Index component
Industry	Banking
Founded	1868;156 years ago (1868)
Headquarters	Frost Tower, San Antonio, Texas
Key people	Phil Green (Chairman & CEO) Paul Bracher, President Jerry Salinas, CFO
Net income	$323.6 million (2020)
Total assets	$42.391 billion (2020)
Total equity	$4.038 billion (2020)
Number of employees	4,685 (2020)
Website	frostbank.com
Footnotes /references [1]

The Frost Bank Tower is one of the tallest buildings in Austin, Texas.

Frost Bank Plaza in Corpus Christi, Texas

Frost Bank is an American bank based in San Antonio that is chartered in Texas, with 155 branches and 1,700 automated teller machines in the state. It is the primary subsidiary of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc., a bank holding company. It is one of the 60 largest banks of the country by total assets.

History

Early years

Frost Bank was founded in 1868 as a mercantile partnership in San Antonio by Thomas Claiborne Frost, who had served as a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate States Army. ^{[1] [2]} In February 1899, it was chartered as a national banking association. ^[1] That year, the bank also reached $1 million in deposits ^[2] (worth about $35 million in 2022 dollars). ^[3] The bank survived the Panic of 1907 with the aid of an association of local banks and by 1921, sold shares to outside investors for the first time. Frost continued to grow with the construction of a 12-story building in 1921, which was the tallest building in Texas at the time. By 1926, Joseph Hardin Frost, brother of T.C. Frost Jr., took over as president of the company. ^[2]

Growth

Over the years, Frost has grown both organically and through the acquisition of other banks, beginning in 1928 with the purchase of Lockwood National Bank. ^[2] In 1977, the company merged with Cullen Bankers, Inc. of Houston forming Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. and its stock began trading on the NASDAQ. ^[2]

In 1982, Cullen/Frost Bankers and United States National Bancshares, Inc. (USNB) of Galveston, Texas merged, but Frost operated USNB separately for nearly two decades. ^{[4] [5]} As new financial services legislation allowed banks to broaden the services they offered customers, Cullen/Frost folded the USNB charter into Frost's in 2000. ^[6] With this action, the last bank using the federally forbidden United States National Bank title ceased to exist. ^{[5] [7]}

In 1983, the bank announced it intended to merge with First City Bancorp of Houston, Texas, ^[8] however the merger was never completed. First City was subsequently rescued by the FDIC in 1988 and ultimately bankrupted in 1992 and was absorbed by other banks, primarily Texas Commerce Bank (now Chase).

In 1999, Frost Bank acquired Commerce Financial Corp. ^[9] and Frost Insurance Agency, a subsidiary of the bank acquired Professional Insurance Agents Inc. ^[10]

In 2005-2006, the company acquired Alamo Bank of Texas, Horizon Capital Bank, Summit Bancshares Inc., and Texas Community Bank. ^{[11] [12]} In 2014, it acquired Western National Bank. ^[13]

Industry changes

During the financial crisis of 2007–2008, the bank did not accept government assistance via the Troubled Asset Relief Program, ^[2] but faced with changes in the financial services industry, the bank converted its 113-year-old federal charter into a state charter in June 2012. ^[14]

References

1. "Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. 2020 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
2. San Antonio: Our Story of 150 Years in the Alamo City. Trinity University Press. October 19, 2015.
3. The average inflation rate from 1899 to 2022 is about 2.94% per year.
4. "F.A. "Andy" Odom, president of the Galveston branch of Frost National Bank". Texas Banking. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
5. Elder, Laura (2010-09-16). "Frost Bank puts building on the market". Galveston Daily News. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
6. Shannon Buggs. "Isle bank joins Frost 18 years after buyout". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
7. ELDER, LAURA (April 13, 2016). "Developer eyes Frost Bank building for apartments". The Daily News (Texas) .
8. "TEXAS BANK UNITS AGREE TO MERGER". The New York Times . July 27, 1983.
9. "Cullen/Frost to acquire Commerce Financial". American City Business Journals . February 17, 1999.
10. "Frost Bank subsidiary to acquire Victoria insurer". American City Business Journals . March 4, 1999.
11. Phinisee, Tamarind (November 27, 2005). "Cullen/Frost continues to branch out through acquisitions". American City Business Journals .
12. "Frost completes Summit Bank purchase". American City Business Journals . December 8, 2006.
13. "Cullen/Frost Bankers Finalizes Merger of Western National Bank into Frost Bank" (Press release). PR Newswire. June 20, 2014.
14. SILVER-GREENBERG, JESSICA (April 3, 2012). "Small Banks Shift Charters to Avoid U.S. as Regulator". The New York Times .

External links

• Interview with Tom Frost, April 14, 1994, University of Texas as San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Oral History Collections, UA 15.01, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.