volatile trading of Nevada mining stocks, a run on the Bank of California occurred on Thursday, August 26, 1875. The bank failed, and Ralston was ruined. The next morning he executed a deed of trust, turning over everything he owned to Sharon, and the deed was notarized. Ralston then admitted irregularities in banking practices to the board of directors and was ousted as president. He walked to the North Beach to get away from the angry crowds and went to the Neptune Bath House, where he was accustomed to swim in the ocean on summer days. He swam out as far as he could go, and did not return. When his body was recovered, it was found he had died of a stroke. The bank reopened on October 2, 1875, with $2 million in gold coin on hand and Mills again president. When the San Francisco clearing house was established in 1876, the city's leading banks, in order of importance, were the Bank of California, the Nevada Bank (opened in 1875 with McLane as president), the Anglo-California Bank, Ltd., and Wells Fargo & Company. During the economic slump of 1878 the bank's capital was reduced by $2 million. Upon the retirement of Mills in 1878, William Alvord, a prominent merchant, was elected president of the bank. Under his leadership the Bank of California became one of the chief centers of exchange between European money markets and those of Japan and China. It was Alvord who, in 1887, warned James C. Flood of signs of irregularities at the Nevada Bank, enabling Flood to avert the collapse of the Nevada Bank following the speculation of its cashier in the wheat market. Alvord was president of the Bank of California until his death in San Francisco on December 21, 1904. In January 1905, Homer S. King left Wells Fargo & Company to assume the presidency of the Bank of California. Merger with Union Bank On April 1, 1996, the bank merged with Union Bank to form Union Bank of California, becoming the third largest commercial bank in California. In 2008 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and was renamed MUFG Union Bank. Branch buildings See also Bank of California Building (disambiguation) References 1864 establishments in California 1996 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1864 Banks based in California Banks disestablished in 1996 Banks established in