Morgan and Co.: Private Bankers

FAIN: FA-11528-76

Vincent P. Carosso
New York University (New York, NY 10012-1019)

To assess the role of the private banker in American life and society, using the history of Morgan and Co. as a model of that small and influential group of top banking partnerships that occupied a pivotal position in the development of public and private enterprises in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere. Private banks fulfilled an extraordinarily diversified and significant role in the developing American economy and nation. They served as important vehicles for the diffusion of culture, tradition, and values and helped establish economic, social, cultural, and governmental ties and standards that continue to the present day. The private banker was also responsible for moving the country toward a new international consciousness.