Bank of the West is a diversified financial services holding company, headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas. The Bank has more than 700 banking centers in the Midwest and Western United States. Bank of the West began as Farmers National Gold Bank of San Jose, California, in 1874. When all bank notes became convertible to gold or silver in 1880, the bank converted from a gold national bank and changed its name to the First National Bank of San Jose, California. In 1970, Banque Nationale de Paris established the French Bank of California. Later that... decade, First National Bank of San Jose changed its name to Bank of the West. In 1979, BNP bought Bank of the West and merged in the French Bank of California. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Bank of the West bought several other banks and branches. In 1987, Bank of the West bought Bank of Los Gatos.
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