George H. Olmsted

Major General George Hamden Olmsted (March 18, 1901 – October 8, 1998) was an American military officer and insurance executive. Throughout Olmsted's career, he was a champion of the concepts of better education, jobs, and opportunities for all people. In the fields of banking and insurance, he brought availability and affordability of products and services to a market that was battered by the Great Depression. He carried on the dream of Arthur J. Morris, the founder of Financial General Corporation, that "anyone who has a steady job can qualify for installment credit from a bank".

Early life George H. Olmsted was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the second of four children of Ernest and Alice Lockwood Olmsted. He graduated from West High School in Des Moines and attended Iowa State University briefly during the fall of 1918, before receiving his appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point on November 4, 1918.thumb

During his four-year attendance at West Point, Olmsted was President of his class for three years. He graduated on June 22, 1922, holding the position of First Captain of the Corps of Cadets, ranking second in his class academically. He also served as Chairman of the Student Honor Committee and as Assistant Business Manager of the yearbook, Howitzer. In athletics, General Olmsted was the featherweight boxing champion of the academy and won his varsity "A" as manager and second-string quarterback of the 1922 Army football team.

Civilian interlude After graduation, Olmsted served in the active army until October 1923 when he returned to civilian life in Des Moines to enter business with his father who was running a small insurance agency.

International Bank (IB) was headquartered in a building at 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue (diagonally across from the Old Executive Office Building and the White House) in Washington and controlled the activities of several companies which were separated into five operating groups:

The Life Insurance Group – United Services Life Insurance Company/Bankers Security Life Insurance Society. The Property and Casualty Insurance Group – Hawkeye-Security Insurance Company and the other insurance companies in Des Moines. The International Maritime Group – The International Trust Company of Liberia which administered the registration of vessels under the Liberian flag. The International Banking Group – Ownership interests with local partners in commercial banks in 10 foreign countries. The Industrial Group – Globe Industries, Kliklok Corporation, Avis Industrial Corporation, and a 16% ownership of Foster Wheeler Corporation.

In December 1972, International Bank (IB) bought a two thirds stake in the Mercantile Bank & Trust Company which had a bank in Freeport, Bahamas, the Mercantile Bank of Freeport, and another bank in the Cayman Islands of a similar name. However, following the death of Helliwell on December 24, 1976, the banks Castle, Mercantile (Nassau) and Mercantile (Cayman) collapsed in the middle of May 1977.

His grandfather Jerauld Aubrey Olmsted and son George Hamden Olmsted Jr. were also West Point graduates. His older brother Jerauld Lockwood Olmsted attended the Naval Academy but died from polio only a year after graduation.