JPMorgan Chase traces its oldest predecessor to 1799.
The bank's historical lineage reaches back to the Manhattan Company, founded in New York City in 1799. The Manhattan Company was created to provide clean water but also received a charter allowing it to conduct banking, leading to the formation of a bank that later became part of JPMorgan Chase.
JPMorgan Chase is the product of many mergers involving institutions such as Chase Manhattan, J.P. Morgan, Chemical Bank, Bank One, and Washington Mutual. The modern company was formed in 2000 through the merger of J.P. Morgan and Chase Manhattan.
The 1799 date refers to a predecessor, not the creation of the present corporate structure. That distinction explains why sources may cite 2000 for the modern JPMorgan Chase while also describing the company as having more than two centuries of history.