JPMorgan Chase traces its history to the Bank of the Manhattan Company, founded in 1799, and became one of the world’s largest banks by market capitalization.
The Bank of the Manhattan Company was established in New York City by Aaron Burr. Its original charter involved supplying the city with water, but the organization also operated as a bank. Over the following two centuries, mergers connected that institution with many major American financial firms.
The modern JPMorgan Chase & Co. was created in 2000 through the merger of J.P. Morgan and Chase Manhattan. It expanded further when JPMorgan Chase acquired the failed investment bank Bear Stearns in 2008 and Washington Mutual’s banking operations that same year.
The name combines two historic banking lineages: J.P. Morgan and Chase. It is not the same institution as JPMorgan, the investment bank brand, although JPMorgan is one of the company’s principal businesses.