What is a bank most afraid of?
You don't need extensive expertise to answer this question—any reasonably experienced person would say: a run on the bank.
For any bank, a run is catastrophic.
In just one day, February 26th, the combined blow of regulatory investigations and Westinghouse Electric's withdrawal created a panic that quickly triggered a run on Mellon Financial Group.
As a century-old regional bank with a market value of $13.9 billion as of the day before the incident, the repercussions were swift and brutal. By the end of trading that afternoon, the relentless stream of negative news had caused Mellon Financial's stock to plunge 21%, slashing its market value to $10.9 billion. In a single day, shareholders of the bank collectively lost $3 billion on paper.
But the stock drop was secondary—everyone knew that the real crisis was the run on the bank.
If this problem couldn't be resolved quickly, Mellon Financial Group, a regional banking institution with over a century of history, might not even survive the next week. The fallout would ripple far beyond Mellon's collapse.
Over the next two days, the crisis deepened, and no miracles emerged.
On the following two trading days, Mellon Financial's stock price dropped another 13% and 9%, respectively. By the close of trading on Friday, its market value had plummeted from $13.9 billion three days prior to just $8.6 billion. Meanwhile, over three consecutive days, customers of the bank filed withdrawal and transfer requests totaling $6.7 billion. Given Mellon Financial's total assets of $43 billion and the federal reserve requirement of only 8%, the bank could only access about $3.5 billion in cash in the short term.
As a result, Mellon Financial was forced to impose limits on withdrawals.
This only stoked further panic and accelerated the run.
Pittsburgh.
At a Mellon family estate on Friday evening, an extraordinary gathering was underway. Most of the descendants of the Mellon family, fractured since Andrew Mellon's death decades ago, had come together. But what should have been a moment of unity began with a heated argument between Richard Mellon Scaife, the man at the center of the crisis, and his sister, Cordelia Scaife May.
Their mother, Sarah Cordelia Mellon, was the granddaughter of the family's founder, Thomas Mellon. Following disputes over their mother's inheritance decades ago, the two siblings, now both in their sixties, had barely spoken to each other in nearly 30 years.
"This is just like when we were kids—you arrogant, incompetent fool!" Cordelia snapped. "All you do is drink and chase women. You're 60 years old and still causing trouble for the family with your idiocy."
"Bitch," Richard retorted, his face reddening. "At least I'm not dragging you down with me! Or don't tell me you secretly joined everyone else in shorting tech stocks and lost a fortune—if so, that makes you even dumber."
"If I'd known you were the idiot behind this, I wouldn't have put in a single dime!" Cordelia shot back. "Sure, I lost some money, but look at you! You took so much over the years—how much do you even have left now? Ha, I can't wait to see you bankrupt, you idiot!"
"I took what was rightfully mine," Richard snarled. "At least I've done something for the family over the years. What about you? All you do is sit on your inheritance and enjoy life. What have you contributed? Nothing!"
"You call what you've done for the family 'contributions'?" Cordelia sneered. "Building a so-called 'media empire,' poking into the president's personal life? And for what? Clinton is still sitting comfortably in the White House, but now Mellon Financial is suddenly under investigation. Why do you think that is, you fool? Why do you think?!"
"Shut up, bitch!"
"Idiot!"
Their shouting nearly escalated to a physical altercation before Timothy Mellon wheeled his father, Paul Mellon, into the room. Sitting in a wheelchair, the 90-year-old patriarch waved his cane, striking Richard hard enough to finally stop the argument.
As the shouting subsided, Paul Mellon scanned the room, his gaze lingering on the faces of the younger generation. Then, signaling to his son Timothy, he said, "Step forward."
Timothy stepped up and addressed the room: "Frank Court returned from Washington this afternoon. The government wants the Bank of New York to take over Mellon Financial. Let's discuss our options."
Frank Court, the CEO of Mellon Financial Group since 1987, had always been a loyal representative of the Mellon family.
As soon as Timothy finished speaking, his cousin Matthew Mellon chimed in: "It's obvious—this is a conspiracy. I remember last year the Bank of New York tried to acquire Mellon Financial."
Another family member, Richard Prosser Mellon, added, "Tim, I just want to know—if we agree to this takeover, what do we get? Or, to put it bluntly, what will we have left?"
Timothy looked at his older cousin and shook his head. "That's something we'll have to negotiate with Washington after tonight's decision."
A middle-aged female member of the family, Cassandra Mellon, spoke up: "We shouldn't agree to anything without guarantees from Washington."
"Cass, the issue is that we don't have time," Timothy countered. "Even though the stock market is closed over the weekend, the run will continue. We can't afford to wait."
Cordelia, fresh from her argument, interjected: "Then let's refuse to negotiate. If Mellon Financial collapses due to a run, we won't be the biggest losers. I don't believe the White House will allow that to happen."
"If only it were that simple," Matthew Mellon replied. "If we don't cooperate and the situation at Mellon Financial worsens, the government has the authority to seize control. At that point, we'll lose all leverage."
Cassandra pressed on: "Still, we can't just surrender without negotiating. I insist Washington must promise us something in return."
"The key issue is time," another family member murmured.
"Why not wait until Monday and see how things play out?"
Paul Mellon, the last surviving son of Andrew Mellon, listened quietly from his wheelchair as the younger generation argued. A deep sadness washed over him.
He thought of the family's former glory and compared it to the current scene. Everyone seemed focused only on retreating or escaping responsibility. Worse, no one even dared to mention the name of the young man who had caused all this. The idea of confronting him didn't even cross their minds.
Sighing, Paul raised his hand to silence the room and turned to Richard Mellon Scaife. "Charlie, you've been quiet. What do you think?"
Still nursing the sting from his uncle's earlier cane strike, Richard stretched his neck and stared at the chandelier on the ceiling. "I have nothing to say."
Cordelia immediately seized the moment to mock him. "Of course. He's always like this—makes a mess, then waits for Mommy and Daddy to clean it up."
Paul glared at his sharp-tongued niece before turning his gaze to the others. Seeing their averted eyes only deepened his despair. If the Mellon family could unite, their century of accumulated wealth might give them a fighting chance. But now, faced with a formidable adversary, they were divided and lacked the will to fight. Even if Paul had a plan, he had no means to implement it.
After a long pause, he finally said, "Since none of you can decide, I'll leave this to Tim. Prepare yourselves—Mellon Financial won't survive this. But if we relinquish it, our adversary... likely won't pursue us further. Matthew, Cass, Charlie—do you object?"
The room fell silent.
After a moment, Cassandra asked hesitantly, "Uncle, are you sure giving up Mellon Financial will end this?"
"Look at the Hearst family," Paul replied, finally naming Simon Westeros. "He's not one to pursue things beyond what's necessary. What he wants this time is Mellon Financial." He looked at the others again and added, "The condition, of course, is that none of you provoke him again. Keep to yourselves and live quietly."
The room grew tense as some family members turned their eyes toward Richard.
Under their scrutiny, Richard's face flushed red, and he snapped angrily: "Simon Westeros? He's nothing—a nouveau riche! At worst, two years ago, with the Woodfield Manor bombing, I'll—"
Before he could finish, Paul hurled his cane at him. "You fool! Don't you see the situation? The Woodfield Manor bombing? Why not bring up the Kennedy assassination while you're at it? Look around—no one dares investigate that, and look at what's become of the Kennedy descendants. Do you want to drag us all to ruin?"
Fuming, Richard shouted back, "Fine! If it'll make you all happy, I'll sever ties with the Mellon family. Starting today, I'm done!"
Paul glared at him, trembling with rage. "Sever ties? Your wealth and status come from the Mellon name. Give up everything under your name first, and then we'll talk about cutting ties! I'll call a lawyer right now—are you ready?"
The tension in the room froze as Richard faltered under his uncle's scorn. He clenched his jaw and avoided further comment.
The family ultimately decided to let go of Mellon Financial. By Sunday morning, after an intense day of negotiations, the Bank of New York announced that, with the support of regulators, it would take over Mellon Financial Group.
With the board dissolved and CEO Frank Court resigning but agreeing to assist with the transition, the century-long Mellon era came to an end. The family's shares, representing less than 10% of the bank's total, would also be sold off entirely, marking their complete exit.
To further stabilize the situation, Westinghouse Electric made a sudden reversal, announcing that it had overreacted to the investigation into Mellon Financial and would resume its business relationships with the bank.
The sudden turnaround baffled many observers, prompting a renowned Wall Street Journal financial journalist to call it a conspiracy on Facebook. He cited a failed acquisition attempt by the Bank of New York last year as evidence that the past week's events were part of a calculated ploy to force Mellon Financial into a sale.
But the die was cast. These voices, which didn't even touch on the deeper layers of the story, failed to spark significant discussion in mainstream media.
As for the few elite insiders who understood the full scope, they were once again stunned by the Mellon family's complete collapse before the Westeros system. Their shock inevitably gave way to a greater respect—and fear—of Simon Westeros.
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