People moving to Mississippi since 1998 might not know Deposit Guaranty Bank, which was Mississippi’s dominant financial institution for decades.
Deposit Guaranty opened on Monday June 15, 1925, 100 years ago. Families who were pillars of the bank surrounded me from birth.
The last CEO was my neighbor Bud Robinson — previously my family’s neighbor from my teenage years. Bud lent the 50th anniversary history to me in late April 2023.
It took 25 months to obtain a rare copy. “The First Fifty: The Story of Deposit Guaranty National Bank” by Carroll Brinson highlights the leadership behind Deposit Guaranty, desiring an expanding, dynamic city.
I always heard that John Hart — a family friend as have been his descendants consistently — started Deposit Guaranty. The Biloxi Herald obituary following Hart’s October 24, 1925 death detailed “Jackson's oldest and wealthiest citizen.” Hart provided the capital commencing operations.
Hart’s son-in-law Myer Lewis and Myer’s friend George Shaw lamented that they could not locate bank stock to buy, in early 1925, so they created their own. They invited Major George Donald — Collector of Internal Revenue for Mississippi — to lead it. The bank incorporated on May 8, 1925.
The initial advertisement introduced the slogan employed through the bank’s existence: “Grow With Us.”
Major Donald activated the astonishing ascent. The advertisement commemorating the fifth anniversary concluded: “Alert to the problems of today and alive to the demands of tomorrow, it dedicates its personnel and resources to the challenge of tomorrow.”
Prioritizing sustainability over short-term profit, year end assets (ignoring the first years impacted by the Great Depression) went from $7 million in 1934 to $12 million in 1937; $15 million in 1939; $20 million in 1941; $30 million in 1942; $38 million in 1943; $52.4 million in 1944; $58.5 million in 1945; $102 million in 1953; $115 million in 1955; $137 million in 1957; $170 million in 1959; $200 million in 1961; $265 million in 1964; $338 million in 1965; $394.5 million in 1967; $470 million in 1969; $519 million in 1970; $579 million in 1971; $692 million in 1972; $798 million in 1973; and $843 million in 1974.
The bank and the city grew symbiotically. Vision of what Jackson could be and strong leadership catalyzed momentum.
Major Donald died on April 2, 1941. Deposit Guaranty had become Mississippi’s largest bank, less than 14 years after opening. Major Donald was succeeded by his lieutenant W. M. Mounger.
Mounger retired on January 8, 1957. W. P. McMullan became president, and Nat Rogers became vice president. Mounger’s namesake grandson is among my closest friends; McMullan’s daughter-in-law was my dear next-door neighbor for years; and Rogers was my oldest friend’s uncle. Bank officials inhabited Jackson and local institutions improved communities.
Rogers was recruited to run one of the country’s largest banks in 1968 — while president of the American Bankers Association. Russ Johnson, Herman Hines, and Pat McMullan Jr. — none unknown to Jacksonians or me — became senior management.
The obituary in The Biloxi Sun-Herald of my paternal grandfather captures what I convey:
“William B Wiener… had long been prominently identified with business and financial activities in Canton and Madison County and was a large property holder. He was at one time president of the First National Bank of Canton, and was later president of the Madison County Bank. For the past several years he has confined himself to looking after his own property interests in the city and county.”
CEO’s invested here — having stakes in outcomes, willing to take risks, and providing seed capital to unproven entrepreneurs — unleash dynamic economies; thinking locally; ensuring that profits and salaries enrich proximate people.
“The First Fifty” epilogue said that, “So much has happened in this half century — economically, sociologically, politically and scientifically.
“But the point to remember is that changes in the years ahead are almost certain to proliferate at an ever-increasing rate. Both individuals and businesses, therefore, must somehow learn to welcome these changes and to cope with them.”
Deposit Guaranty disappeared in 1998, following the first of three mergers. Deposit Guaranty’s leadership, goals, and commitments remain relevant, reflecting eternal verities.
Jay Wiener is a Northsider
