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Franklin National Bank

Historic commercial building in New York, United States

Franklin National Bank was a bank based in Franklin Square on Long Island, New York. It was once the United States' 20th largest bank. On October 8, 1974, it collapsed in obscure circumstances involving Michele Sindona, who was a renowned Mafia-banker and member of the irregular freemasonic lodge Propaganda Due.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1926Founded1
  • Industryeconomics of banking1
  • HeadquartersNassau County1

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Franklin National Bank; Franklin Square-2
Photo: DanTD, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Franklin National Bank was a bank based in Franklin Square on Long Island, New York. It was once the United States' 20th largest bank. On October 8, 1974, it collapsed in obscure circumstances involving Michele Sindona, who was a renowned Mafia-banker and member of the irregular freemasonic lodge Propaganda Due. It was at the time the largest bank failure in the history of the country.2

The story

The bank was founded as Franklin Square National Bank in 1926 and changed its name to Franklin National Bank in 1947. Its original location was built in 1929 in Franklin Square, a suburban hamlet in Nassau County. It was subsequently expanded in stages through 1955. It consists of the original 1929 one-story Colonial Revival style building; a 1939 expansion; a 1946/47 expansion which included the addition of a second floor, pediment, partial hipped roof, cupola, rear four-story addition and a two-story banking hall; and a 1955 four-story rear office addition and drive-through teller. The building remained the bank's headquarters until 1960, when a new headquarters was built about 4 miles away in Mineola, New York, the county seat. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

Arthur T. Roth joined the bank in 1934 as head teller and became president in 1946. Under his leadership, Franklin National Bank introduced many banking innovations, including junior savings accounts (1947), the drive-up teller window (1950), the bank credit card (1951), a no-smoking policy on banking floors (1958), and outdoor teller machines at branch banks (1968) – along with the Franklin Savings Bond, which later developed into the Certificate of Deposit (1969).

In 1955, Franklin National Bank acquired the Roslyn National Bank and Trust Company and the First National Bank of Glen Cove.

In 1964, Franklin opened branch offices in New York City, and in 1967 merged with Federation Bank & Trust Company. In 1968, Roth was removed as CEO by his protégé, Harold Gleason, after an alleged conflict of interest real estate scandal involving Donald Roth and the proposed airfield development at Calverton, New York. Importantly, the bank had several branches on the Bahamas and other tax havens before 1971. In 1970, Roth lost his position as Chairman and was pushed off the board of directors in favor of an influential future promised by Michele Sindona. Gleason then became chairman and chief executive officer, inviting Laurence Tisch to join as vice chairman as he was a 22% shareholder.

From Wikipedia’s article on Franklin National Bank, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. Oct 8, 1974Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1926Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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