stock market. On behalf of Chase National Bank, Wiggin, along with other bankers, committed substantial funds for an investment pool. They had Richard Whitney, vice president of the New York Stock Exchange, go onto the floor of the Exchange and with great fanfare purchase large blocks of shares in major U.S. corporations at prices above the current market. The action halted the slide that day and returned stability to the market. While the market slide continued on Monday, Wiggin was lauded as a hero for his actions. However, what later came out in the Pecora Commission investigation into the Wall Street crash was that, beginning in September 1929, Wiggin had begun selling short his personal shares in Chase National Bank at the same time he was committing his bank's money to buying. He shorted over 42,000 shares, earning him over $4 million. His earnings, moreover, were tax-free, since he used a Canadian shell company to buy the stocks. Wiggin was not alone; other executives in powerful positions had done the same thing. The committee counsel, Ferdinand Pecora, said of Wiggins, "In the entire investigation, it is doubtful if there was another instance of a corporate executive who so thoroughly and successfully used his official and fiduciary position for private profit" (Pecora, p. 161). As a result of all the controversy, the “Wiggin Provision” was promptly named after him which prevented company directors from selling short on their own stocks and making a profit from their own company’s demise. As head of one of America's most important banks, Wiggin was consulted by the Hoover Administration for suggestions on how to deal with the Great Depression. Wiggin opposed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 and according to the Ludwig von Mises Institute, "One of the best counsels on the depression was set forth in an annual report by Albert H. Wiggin, chairman of the board of the Chase National Bank, in January, 1931." In 1949 Wiggin sold his 24 percent interest in American Express, stipulating that it would not be broken up or wind up owned by Chase. Although Wiggin never did anything illegal, he eventually retired under pressure from the bank after 30 plus years of successful banking. Albert Wiggin died on May 21, 1951, at the age of 83, at his summer home, Field Point Park in Greenwich, Connecticut, after a prolonged illness. References External link 1868 births 1951 deaths