From the Texas Department of Banking: History of the Banking Industry in Texas and the Department

A look at how the Texas Constitution has been amended to allow for banking ot expand in the state.

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In 1845, the first Constitution of the State of Texas provided that "[n]o corporate body shall hereafter be created, renewed, or extended, with banking or discounting privileges," and this prohibition against the chartering of banks was carried forward into the Constitutions of 1861 and 1866, deleted in the Constitution of 1869, and added back into the present-day Constitution of 1876 as Article XVI, Section 16. Banking certainly existed during these periods but was dominated by private, unincorporated banks, many of which issued their own currency.

In 1865, the first national bank in Texas was organized in Galveston.

During the period 1869-1876, a number of state-chartered banks were created by special acts of the Legislature. Ten additional state banks were established under a general law passed in 1874. Only a few of these banks ever actually opened for business. From 1876 to 1900, banking in Texas was conducted by private banks, existing state banks, and national banks.

As of 1890, 148 private banks were operating in Texas.

As of 1900, 440 national banks existed in Texas.