Sunday January 18 @ 1:30 pm. 6821 Fair Oaks Blvd, Carmichael, CA Admission $10, refreshments included. A Little fellow is a feature length film documentary exploring the enduring legacy of A.P. Giannini, a first-generation Italian American who revolutionized banking and shaped California’s industries in the early 20th century.
The son of Italian immigrants, Amedeo Pietro (A.P.) Giannini, is regarded as the most important Italian American in the history of California and the United States. He is credited with pioneering branch banking in the United States by opening branches of his Bank of Italy (Banca d’Italia) in the Italian neighborhoods across California. A time when banks primarily catered to the wealthy, a system he did not agree with.
He later changed the name of the Bank of Italy to Bank of America which became the largest bank in the world under his leadership. He not only pioneered Branch banking but also home loans with affordable monthly payments. By 1930 he had established 352 branches in California which has the second largest Italian American population in the country.
Giannini’s story is one of the most remarkable success stories of the 20th century. The son of immigrants from Liguria in northern Italy, he was born in the Santa Clara Valley in 1870. His roots were in the Italian immigrant community. Italians provided most of his workforce. His goal was to meet the needs of the burgeoning Italian communities of California by putting money to work in the community.
“Serving the needs of others is the only legitimate business in the world” - A.P. Giannini
His career was central to the development of the Early 20th century West. Giannini not only financed the Golden Gate Bridge, but he also helped finance the early motion picture industry and today’s modern agri-business and aerospace industries. He gave Walt Disney a loan to make the first full length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, after being shown a few rushes by Walt Disney. He also aided in the reconstruction of Italy after World War II.
When the Great earthquake of 1906 destroyed San Francisco, Giannini’s Italian Bank was the first to reopen. He set up a plank on two barrels on the Washington Street Wharf amid the smoking ruins lending money to people whose only collateral was their character. The Italian District of North Beach was the first to be rebuilt.
Giannini’s vision and his success aided the advancement of the Italians in California. At the same time, the hard work and savings of the Italian communities helped finance the rapid growth of the State. No person and no group contributed more to the development of California than A.P. Giannini and the Italian Americans.
When Giannini died in 1949, he was the leading banker of the twentieth century. True to his vision, he did not profit from the success of his bank. Referred to as the “Giant of the West,” he had transformed banking in the United States
Giannini charted a new course for America and changed the face of banking. Much like fellow Ligurian Columbus, who charted a new course across the ocean, still used today, changed the course of world history.
You won’t find their significance credited in todays U. S. history books, but they made America. They discovered it, They named it and They built it. It is named after fellow Italian Amerigo Vespucci from Florence Italy.
