U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp is an American diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, the seventh largest bank in the United States based on $416.0 billion in assets (as of September 30, 2015 per official FDIC data) and fourth largest in the US in total branches. U.S. Bank ranks as the fifth largest bank in the U.S. based on deposits, with $263.7B in deposits as of June 30, 2014. U.S. Bank's branch network serves 25 Midwestern and Western states with 3,151 banking offices and 5,001 ATMs. U.S. Bancorp offers regional consumer and business banking and wealth management services, national wholesale and trust services and global payments services to over 15.8 million customers. The company employs over 65,000 people.

U.S. Bank is a nationally chartered bank, regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Department of the Treasury.

History

Foundations

U.S. Bank was formed during the 1990s through the acquisitions of several major regional banks in the West and Midwest. Those banks, in turn, had grown from the mergers of numerous smaller banks throughout the years. Since 1988 U.S. Bank has acquired or merged with over 50 banks.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles (ⁱ/lɒs ˈændʒəlᵻs/ loss AN-jə-ləs or loss AN-jə-liss) (Spanish for "The Angels"), officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States after New York City, the most populous city in the state of California, and the county seat of Los Angeles County.

Situated in Southern California, Los Angeles is known for its mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, sprawling metropolis, and as a major center of the American entertainment industry. Los Angeles lies in a large coastal basin surrounded on three sides by mountains reaching up to and over 10,000 feet (3,000 m).

Historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was officially founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood. The city experienced rapid growth with the discovery of oil.

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that creates credit by lending money to a borrower, thereby creating a corresponding deposit on the bank's balance sheet. Lending activities can be performed either directly or indirectly through capital markets. Due to their importance in the financial system and influence on national economies, banks are highly regulated in most countries. Most nations have institutionalized a system known as fractional reserve banking under which banks hold liquid assets equal to only a portion of their current liabilities. In addition to other regulations intended to ensure liquidity, banks are generally subject to minimum capital requirements based on an international set of capital standards, known as the Basel Accords.

Banking in its modern sense evolved in the 14th century in the rich cities of Renaissance Italy but in many ways was a continuation of ideas and concepts of credit and lending that had their roots in the ancient world. In the history of banking, a number of banking dynasties — notably, the Medicis, the Fuggers, the Welsers, the Berenbergs and the Rothschilds — have played a central role over many centuries. The oldest existing retail bank is Monte dei Paschi di Siena, while the oldest existing merchant bank is Berenberg Bank.

U.S. Bank Tower (Los Angeles)

US Bank Tower, formerly Library Tower and First Interstate Bank World Center, is a 1,018-foot (310 m) skyscraper at 633 West Fifth Street in downtown Los Angeles, California. It is the tallest building in California, the eleventh tallest in the United States, the tallest west of the Mississippi River, and the 65th tallest building in the world. Because local building codes require all high-rise buildings to have a helipad, it was known as the tallest building in the world with a roof-top heliport from its completion in 1989 to 2004 when Taipei 101 opened. It is also the second tallest building in a major active seismic region; its structure was designed to resist an earthquake of 8.3 on the Richter scale. It consists of 73 stories above ground and two parking levels below ground. Construction began in 1987 with completion in 1989. The building was designed by Henry N. Cobb of the architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and cost $350 million to build. It is one of the most recognizable buildings in Los Angeles, often used in establishing shots for the city in films and television programs.