National Bank of Commerce, San Antonio, TX (Charter 6956)
National Bank of Commerce, San Antonio, TX (Chartered 1903 - Failed (Merger) 1990)
Town History
San Antonio is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the seventh-most populous city in the United States, second-most populous city in Texas and second-most populous city in the Southern U.S., with a population of 1.43 million at the 2020 census. The San Antonio metropolitan area, with an estimated 2.76 million residents, ranks as the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest in the nation. It is the county seat of Bexar County.
San Antonio is home to five 18th-century Spanish frontier missions, including The Alamo.
San Antonio had 16 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 15 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized August 13, 1903
- Chartered September 17, 1903
- Opened for business October 8, 1903
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Failed June 1, 1990. Received Government assistance, insured until closed. Succeeded by Bank of America, N.A.
In August 1903, the National Bank of Commerce with $300,000 capital planned to open soon. It was the latest financial institution to be organized in San Antonio. The new bank obtained a long-term lease on the first story of the Kampmann building, northeast corner of the Alamo Plaza, where it would open between September 15 and October 1. The directors were J.P. Barclay, R.L. Ball, Charles Schreiner of Kerrville, R.J. Kleberg of Corpus Christi, J.M. Bennett, Sr., W.J. Moore and George R. Stumberg. J.P. Barclay was elected president; R.L. Ball, vice president; and John M. Bennett, Jr., assistant cashier, the position of cashier remaining vacant. There were two other directors whose names were not made public. With the new bank the city would have six national and six private banking institutions.[3]
In October 1906, the directors were J.M. Bennett, Sr., W.W. Lipscomb, R.J. Kleberg, W.J. Moore, Charles Schreiner, George R. Stumberg, Nat M. Washer, R.L. Ball, and J.P. Barclay. J.P. Barclay was president.[4]
On April 20, 1910, Mr. J.P. Barclay, president of the National Bank of Commerce of San Antonio, died suddenly. Mr. Barclay was for many years vice president of the Frost National Bank of San Antonio. In 1903 he organized the National Bank of Commerce with a capital of $300,000. He built the bank to where it now stood with a capital and surplus of over $600,000 and deposits of over $2,250,000. The success of this bank has been remarkable, speaking more than could be told in words of the character of the man behind it.[5]
In January 1911, the National Bank of Commerce elected the following directors: John M. Bennett, Sr., R.J. Kleberg, George R. Stumberg, Robert D. Barclay, R.L. Ball, W.W. Lispcomb, Charles Schreiner, Nat M. Washer and W.J. Moore. The election of officers was postponed until the president, R.L. Ball, recovered from injuries sustained in a wreck at Pettus on the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad.[6] Mr. Ball had both legs broken and internal injuries, but was expected to survive.[7]
In September 1917, the officers were J.K. Beretta, president; Robt. L. Ball, chairman of the board; Robert D. Barclay, vice president; S.A. Barclay, cashier; L.L. Lentz, and A.V. Campbell, assistant cashiers. The bank was located at Commerce and Soledad Streets on the main plaza.[8]
The Board of Directors announced the relocation of its offices to its new premises on Monday, March 17th, 1919, located at the corner of Soledad and W. Commerce Streets, across the street from the building currently occupied in downtown San Antonio. The board expressed its gratitude to the public in general and to its clientele in particular, "for it is thanks to them that we have been able to expand our business in proportion to the development of the city of San Antonio and Southwest Texas." The directors were John M. Bennet, Sr., R.L. Ball, R.D. Barclay, R.J. Kleberg, J.K. Berretta, Geo. R. Stumberg, and Charles Schreiner. At the close of business, March 4th, the bank had total assets of $4,672,994.52, with capital and surplus of $600,000, undivided profits $63,269.63, circulation $599,997.50, and deposits $2,869,727.39.[9]
On July 10, 1921, J.K. Beretta, president of the National Bank of Commerce of San Antonio and also president of the Laredo National Bank and the Laredo Bridge Company arrived in Laredo from his home in San Antonio. The Laredo Bridge Co. was constructing a modern, reinforce concrete bridge between the two Laredos. Mr. Beretta would look after his various interests in Laredo and also the work of construction on the new international bridge.[10] The bridge connecting Laredo, Texas, with Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, was formally dedicated and opened on February 22, 1922, with ceremonies attended by Governor Pat M. Neff of Texas and Governor Lopez De Lara of Tamaulipas, who with their escorts met in the middle of the bridge. The bridge had a 28-foot roadway with street car tracks, foot-walks on either side five feet wide, and buildings at each terminal to house government offices.[11]
In September 1926, the directors were R.J. Kleberg, A.B. Spencer, J.K. Beretta, R.L. Ball (Chairman), J.M. Bennett, J.P. Barclay, R.D. Barclay, and Chas. Schreiner. The officers were J.K. Beretta, president; R.D. Barclay, vice president; J.P. Barclay, second vice president; A.V. Campbell, cashier; and S.R. Knight, assistant cashier. The bank's total resources exceeded $6,500,000.[12]
In June 1930, A.V. Campbell, cashier of the National Bank of Commerce was under $10,000 bond set by United States Commissioner Paul A. Lockhart after he had waived hearing on a charge of having embezzled $53,000 of the bank's funds. The charge was filed by Jacob Embry, national bank examiner. Campbell had been an employee of the bank for 27 years. The embezzlement was alleged to have occurred between February 4 and May 14 of this year.[13] On Friday, December 12th, Campbell was sentenced to three years in the penitentiary in federal court in San Antonio after he executed an about-face and pleaded guilty to a charge of embezzlement, false entry and misapplication of funds Thursday afternoon. Judge Duval West in passing sentence said that Campbell's admission of guilt and his past record of good character were mitigating circumstances. When John D. Hartman, United States district attorney objected to the sentence on the grounds it was not technically correct, the court explained that three concurrent three-year sentences were imposed to cover 12 counts in the indictment. The trial had opened Monday and a plea of not guilty was entered to 14 counts in the indictment.[14] Campbell would serve his sentence in the Leavenworth, Kansas, Federal Penitentiary.[15]
In May 1977, Gen. John M. Bennett retired as chairman of the board of San Antonio-based National Bancshares Corp. of Texas. Richard W. Calvert, president and chief executive officer of the multi-bank holding company was elected to the chairman's post upon Bennett's retirement. Bennett had served as chairman of the board since its inception in 1971, continuing a tradition in which a member of the Bennett family on the board since the National Bank of Commerce of San Antonio's creation in 1903. Calvert, the new chairman, was a 1954 graduate of Princeton and had served in various positions with the San Antonio branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Association of Reserve City Bankers and was a past president of the San Antonio Clearing House Association. Calvert, a past director of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, was on the board of the San Antonio Medical Foundation, Southwest Research Institute and the Cancer Therapy and Research Foundation of South Texas. The NBC multi-bank holding company included banks in Eagle Pass, Universal City, and two institutions in San Antonio. The bank had bending applications for another San Antonio bank and a bank in Kerrville.[16]
- 03/05/1986 Changed Institution Name to NBC Bank - San Antonio, National Association.
- 06/30/1987 Acquired NBC Bank - Brooks Field, National Association (FDIC #17938) in San Antonio, TX.
- 09/30/1987 Acquired NBC Bank - Randolph, National Association (FDIC #18989) in Universal City, TX.
- 09/30/1987 Acquired NBC Bank - Perrin Beitel, National Association (FDIC #24421) in San Antonio, TX.
- 09/30/1987 Acquired NBC Bank - Colonnade, National Association (FDIC #24389) in San Antonio, TX.
- 09/30/1987 Acquired NBC Bank - Ingram Park, National Association (FDIC #22762) in San Antonio, TX.
- 09/30/1987 Acquired NBC Bank - Harlandale (FDIC #16224) in San Antonio, TX.
- 09/30/1987 Acquired NBC Bank - North, National Association (FDIC #21646) in San Antonio, TX.
- 06/15/1989 Main Office moved to 430 Soledad Street, San Antonio, TX 78205.
Official Bank Title
1: National Bank of Commerce of San Antonio, TX
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $9,178,630 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1903 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 754,790 notes (578,758 large size and 176,032 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 4100 1902 Red Seal 50-100 1 - 2167 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 24500 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 14600 1902 Date Back 50-100 1 - 1500 1902 Date Back 3x50-100 1 - 1000 1902 Plain Back 4x5 24501 - 28500 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 14601 - 109256 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 22 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 18596 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 4992 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 26212 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 8160
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1903 - 1935):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- John Mirza Bennett, Jr., 1908-1908
- Alexander Leonard Covington Magruder, 1909-1916
- Samuel Alexander Barclay, Sr., 1917-1919
- Alfred Vincent Campbell, 1920-1929
- Henry Mayer Hart, 1930-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- San Antonio, TX, on Wikipedia
- Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
- Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- National Bank of Commerce Building (San Antonio, Texas). Atlantic Terra Cotta Company Architectural records and photographs, 1914-1941, Architectural Terra Cotta, Alexander Architectural Archives, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.
- Hardesty, F. Kampmann Building, photograph, 1889; accessed October 10, 2025, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
- ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol 81, July - Dec. 1910, p. 524.
- ↑ Express-News, San Antonio, TX, Mon., July 6, 1964.
- ↑ El Paso Times, El Paso, TX, Mon., Aug 24, 1903.
- ↑ The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Sun., Oct. 28, 1906.
- ↑ Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Corpus Christi, TX, Thu., Apr. 14, 1910.
- ↑ The Galveston Daily News, Galveston, TX, Thu., Jan. 12, 1911.
- ↑ Austin American-Statesman, Austin, TX, Sun., Jan. 1, 1911.
- ↑ La Prensa, San Antonio, TX, Sat., Sep 15, 1917.
- ↑ La Prensa, San Antonio, TX, Sun., Mar. 16, 1919.
- ↑ Laredo Weekly Times, Laredo, TX, Sun., July 10, 1921.
- ↑ Fort Worth Record-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Thu., Feb. 23, 1922.
- ↑ Corpus Christi Times, Corpus Christi, TX, Sat., Sep. 11, 1926.
- ↑ The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Fri., June 27, 1930.
- ↑ The Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX, Fri., Dec. 12, 1930.
- ↑ The Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX, Sun., Jan. 4, 1931.
- ↑ Express-News, San Antonio, TX, Sun., May 8, 1977.