History - Transamerica

In 1904, Amadeo Giannini, who had a reputation for helping small merchants and immigrant farmers, founded the Bank of Italy in a converted San Francisco saloon. His goal was to make financial services available to everyone — an innovative concept at the time. Two years later, in the chaotic days after the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire, Giannini set up a makeshift bank on a desk on the San Francisco docks. Instead of collateral, he required only a handshake when giving residents loans to rebuild.

Giannini was never one to make a big deal about his role in helping the city and its residents rebuild, but his legend and his business grew. In 1928, he consolidated his bank into what would become Bank of America. Two years later, the organization acquired the Occidental Life Insurance Company through the newly created holding company, Transamerica Corporation. Less than two decades later in 1946, Giannini’s bank would become the largest private bank in the world.

During those expansion years, Giannini’s legend grew as he provided funding at a critical time to the emerging California agricultural and wine industries. The generous banker also purchased bonds to secure the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge during the Great Depression. He even loaned Walt Disney the money to complete his first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Due to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, Transamerica had to choose whether to divest its banks or its non-bank investments. Transamerica surprised the financial world and chose insurance.

Today, the Transamerica companies are as committed to helping people as we were over 100 years ago. From life insurance to retirement plans, customers now have access to an even wider range of services to help plan for their financial futures. But the way we see it, our responsibility goes beyond our clients' retirement accounts. We're making wellness a central part of everything we do and want to inspire people to do the same.

Transamerica will continue to do so with innovative insurance and financial products that are as affordable as they are exceptional. But we're also showing people how their wealth and health can work together, so they can reduce their health risks and benefit from less stress as they pursue financial wellness. After all, what good is wealth if you don't have the health to enjoy it?