Bank me, Amadeo

Two memorable weigh-ins, from 1994, on the Fifth Edition of The Columbia Encyclopedia:

1. In the NYRoB, John Gross (1935-2011), a very distinguished and universally-admired Englishman of letters whose every Oxford Book of  anthology I recommend without reservation

2. In the WSJ, Bret Wallach, a distinguished American geographer.

From which latter (allowing for odd formatting): 

THE EDITORS SEEM IN FACT TO HAVE DECIDED THAT THE ENCYCLOPEDIA SHOULD ECHO
OUR CULTURE NOT JUDGE IT SHOULD TELL US WHO'S FAMOUS NOT WHO'S
IMPORTANT HENCE AN ENTRY ON TED TURNER BUT NOTHING ON AP GIANNINI WHO
BUILT THE BANK OF AMERICA IS THE FOUNDER OF A CABLE NEWS NETWORK MORE
IMPORTANT THAN THE FOUNDER OF THE FIRST BANK WELCOMING SMALL CUSTOMERS I
DOUBT IT BUT MR TURNER IS UNDENIABLY BETTER KNOWN

Bank me, Amadeo

From Wikipedia on Bank of America:

The history of Bank of America dates back to 1904, when Amadeo Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco in an effort to cater to immigrants denied service by other banks.^[18] Giannini was raised by the Fava/Stanghellini family, as his father was shot while trying to collect on a $10.00 debt.^{[citation needed]} When the 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck, Giannini was able to scavenge all deposits out of the bank building and away from the fires. Because San Francisco's banks were in smoldering ruins and unable to open their vaults, Giannini was able to use the rescued funds to commence lending within a few days of the disaster. From a makeshift desk consisting of a few planks over two barrels, he lent money to anyone who was willing to rebuild. Later in life, he took great pride in the fact that all of these loans were repaid.

Wikipedia on Amadeo Giannini:

Giannini's parents were Italian immigrants to the United States, originally from Favale di Malvaro near Genoa, Liguria. He attended Heald College, in San Francisco, California. He started in business as a produce broker, commission merchant and produce dealer for farms in the Santa Clara Valley. He was extremely successful in that business, and sold his interest to his employees and retired at the age of 31 to administer his father-in-law's estate. He later became a director of the Columbus Savings & Loan in which his father-in-law owned an interest. At the time, banks were run for the benefit of the wealthy and the well-connected. Giannini observed a real opportunity to service the increasing immigrant population that were without a bank. At loggerheads with the other directors who did not share his sentiment, he quit the board in frustration and decided to start his own bank.

He founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco on October 17, 1904. The bank was housed in a converted saloon directly across the street from the Columbus Savings & Loan as an institution for the "little fellow". It was a new bank for the hardworking immigrants other banks would not serve. He offered those ignored customers savings accounts and loans, judging them not by how much money they already had, but by their character.

Deposits on that first day totaled $8,780.^[2] Within a year, deposits soared above $700,000 ($13.5 million in 2002 dollars). The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires leveled much of the city. In the face of widespread devastation, Giannini set up a temporary bank, collecting deposits, making loans, and proclaiming that San Francisco would rise from the ashes.

Immediately after the earthquake, he moved the vault's money to his home outside the fire zone in then-rural San Mateo, 18-miles by horse and wagon. The wagon used to transport the money was actually a garbage wagon, owned by Hayward resident Giobatta Cepollina, also a native of the Genoa area in Italy (Loano). The cargo was disguised beneath garbage to protect against theft. The fires severely heated the vaults of other big banks. Opening them immediately would ruin the money, so they were kept closed for weeks. Because of this, Giannini was one of the few who was able to provide loans. Giannini was forced to run his bank from a plank across two barrels in the street. Giannini made loans on a handshake to those interested in rebuilding. Years later, he would recount with pride that every single loan was repaid. As further testament to the trust Giannini garnered in the local community, as a reward to the local garbage man for helping to transport the bank's reserves, Giannini agreed to give the man's son his first job with the bank when he came of age. Giannini kept his promise, hiring young Frank Joseph Cepollina at age 14. Cepollina later retired from the bank at age 41.^[3]

Banks were banks in those days