In 1893, within months of the failure of the Herman Schaffner Bank, of which he was a junior partner, Abraham G. Becker established his own firm to carry on the Bank’s the commercial paper business. In those early years of self-employment , A.G. Becker, without legal obligation, began to pay off, with interest, many of the depositors of the Schaffner Bank. This process went on for some twenty years and covered a substantial portion of the depositor base. As a result, Mr. Becker earned a reputation for integrity, honesty, and persistence unequaled in the annals of high finance.