Arthur T. Roth, Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetArthur T. Roth
American banker & CEO
Date of Birth: 22-Dec-1905
Date of Death: 17-Sep-1997
Profession: banker
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn 
About Arthur T. Roth
- Arthur Thomas Roth (December 22, 1905 in The Bronx – September 17, 1997 in Rockville Centre, New York) was an American banker. Known as "Mr.
- Long Island", Arthur Roth played a key role in the development of Long Island banking from 1926 through the 1970s.
- Roth started as a messenger at the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company at age 17 and rose quickly through the ranks.
- He began his career at Franklin National Bank in 1934 as a cashier and worked his way up to become the chief executive in 1946.
- In 1964 Franklin made a bold move to open branches in New York to counter a threat that New York City banks would move to Long Island and Franklin would not have the international services offered by the city's banks.
- During his tenure, Franklin National Bank became the 18th largest bank in the United States.
- Under Roth's leadership, Franklin National Bank was the first bank to issue credit cards, as well as the first to offer drive-in teller services.
- However, they were never well-received and became the bank of last resort for those who could not have solid banking relationships with the big city banks.
- Competitive loan rates and high deposit costs caused Franklin to be vulnerable to fluctuations in a new computerized interest rate environment.
- In July 1968, Roth was removed from his position as chief executive due to growing loan losses and a declining stock price.
- His removal was precipitated by press accounts of his son Donald's connection with land deals in Suffolk County.
- Harold V.
- Gleason, then president, wanted Roth out and bad press was the best way to get rid of Roth.
- Some claim Roth overextended the bank by aggressively pushing into the New York City real estate market.
- Among other close connections the bank had, was with Webb and Knapp, developers of Roosevelt Field, on whose board Roth sat.
- As real estate values in New York dropped in the following years, Franklin National Bank was stressed with millions of dollars of questionable loans.
- The directors from a merger with the Federation Bank were persuaded by Gleason not to nominate Roth for another term as director, and Roth left the bank in 1970.
- Gleason then became chairman and chief executive officer, inviting Laurence Tisch to join as vice chairman as he was a 22% shareholder.
- Tisch served in an inactive manner until he sold his stock to Michele Sindona, "The Popes Banker", in 1972.
- Gleason had spent much energy to attract Sindona to the bank as a savior to supply resources to save the failing bank.
- Sindona was interested in providing money laundering services for his financial customers in Italy.
- The favoritism for Sindona's ability to take over Franklin by the Nixon administration skirted major requirements for fiduciary responsibility, which later caused no small inconvenience to Lawrence Tisch.
- His shadow purchase of Franklin for Sindona backfired, when he was held to account for an insufficient background investigation, before he sold the stock to Sindona.
- Coincidentally, the new relations with China on Nixon's part was scene as a threat to Sindona's business with his clients in Europe.
- This might have been interpreted as a disloyal gesture on Nixon's part, by his European supporters.
- The additional coincidence of the Watergate break-in, a hotel owned by Sindona and the Vatican, may have been partially motivated by Nixon's paranoia about the backlash of his European supporters, and how the Democratic headquarters break-in could yield information.
- Foiling the break-in could have been the plan to have revenge.
- Management of Franklin, led by Gleason and Sindona engaged in a massive real estate expansion, fraudulent statement of financial assets, foreign currency activities, and mismanagement that ultimately led to the bank's demise on October 8, 1974.
- When the end was near Sindona sent large sums of money overseas to recover his investment, and the bank then had insufficient capital to operate.
- At the time it was the largest bank failure in the history of the United States.
- The bank's assets and deposits were then purchased out of the receivership by European-American Bank & Trust Company. Roth, along with his son Donald, later went on to develop the Bank of Suffolk County, in Stony Brook, New York.
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