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MATTERS OF SURVIVAL
American Express nearly disappeared as an independent company in 1929. Chase National Bank had been quietly buying up shares of the company for several years. Not until Chase completed a tender offer for American Express did it come to light that its prospective buyer already owned 97 percent of the company.
Two unforeseen and [...]
TRYING TIMES
In 1987, American Express Bank added $950 million to its reserves against outstanding loans in Latin America. Later the same year, the U.S. stock market experienced its largest drop since the Great Depression; and in the aftermath, Shearson was rocked by a series of serious missteps and setbacks. The situation ultimately became so dire [...]
TURNAROUND AND GROWTH
American Express divested several businesses to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and concentrated on shoring up its core payment, travel and financial planning businesses. The 1984 acquisition of IDS (Investors Diversified Services) – which had initiated American Express’ transformation from what had become known as a card and travel company into a true [...]
INTRODUCTION
The story of American Express is a fascinating one, filled with interesting and sometimes quirky characters who — through a combination of brains, perseverance and luck — shaped the company’s development during the past century and a half.
The express company that forwarded freight and valuables evolved into a company that created and sold financial products [...]
FULL CIRCLE
More than 4,000 American Express employees were in Lower Manhattan the morning of September 11, 2001. Eleven of them lost their lives that day. Eight were hospitalized with injuries, and dozens more lost family members, friends and loved ones.
Even as the horrifying events of that day unfolded, American Express business operations continued without interruption. [...]
INNOVATION AND EXPANSION
In 1882, American Express launched the money order business, which proved an almost instant success. The company introduced the world’s first travelers cheque in 1891 and within ten years was selling more than $6 million in cheques annually.
In the course of building the money order and travelers cheque businesses, the company established correspondent [...]
MATTERS OF SURVIVAL
American Express nearly disappeared as an independent company in 1929. Chase National Bank had been quietly buying up shares of the company for several years. Not until Chase completed a tender offer for American Express did it come to light that its prospective buyer already owned 97 percent of the company.
Two unforeseen and [...]
EXPRESSMEN JOIN FORCES
Established in 1850 in New York, American Express Company was among the first and most successful express delivery businesses to arise during the rapid westward expansion of the United States. The U.S. Postal Service at the time was slow, expensive and nonexistent in many areas. Nothing larger than a letter-sized envelope could be [...]