Bank for brewing industry

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The Bank für Brau-Industrie AG ( Braubank for short , from 1986 Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft from 1899 ) was a German credit institute based in Berlin and Dresden and later Frankfurt am Main .

history

prehistory

In Dresden in the 1830s, beer was mostly brewed in small home breweries. In 1836, the brewers' guild only had 16 master brewers. In 1838 the Waldschlößchen brewery was founded as a public limited company. Bottom-fermented Bavarian beer was produced here. This was more capital intensive as a storage cellar was required and weeks or months passed between production and sales. The second brewery, the Feldschlößchen brewery, was converted into a stock corporation in 1854 . In 1857, the Felsenkeller brewery was added as the third share brewery . In the 1860s, the industrialization of beer brewing accelerated . The introduction of freedom of trade in Saxony in 1861 contributed to this, as did the fact that steam engines had prevailed in breweries. In 1882 the Dresden Chamber of Commerce counted 14 stock breweries in its district. 10 of them were founded between 1868 and 1872. In the early days that followed founder crisis . By 1885, 5 of the new joint stock breweries had to file for bankruptcy.

In 1883 the Feldschlößchen brewery had also become insolvent. However, the company was saved with fresh money. One of the financiers was the Dresden banker Max Arnhold , who in the same year also saved the Radeberg export beer brewery through an equity stake. The market shakeout due to bankruptcies was followed by a strong concentration of the beer industry between 1890 and 1905. A number of financially strong corporations emerged which took over their weaker competitors.

founding

During this time, on June 8, 1899, the Bank für Brauindustrie AG was founded. The initiators were the brothers Max and Georg Arnhold , the owners of the banking house Gebrüder Arnhold in Dresden . They brought their brewery holdings into the company. The bank's shares were traded on the stock exchange. The bank had its headquarters in Berlin at Markgrafenstrasse 53/54 and a branch in Dresden at Waisenhausstrasse 16 (the seat of the Arnhold brothers' banking house). Richard Chrzescinski and Max Frank formed the board of directors of the bank, which had a capital of 7 million marks. The bank should play a central role in the process of concentration in the beer industry. The close connection between the industry and the bank is reflected in the composition of the supervisory board. In 1900 the Supervisory Board of the Bank für Brau-Industrie consisted of:

Consolidation of holdings

At the beginning of its business activity, the bank took part in the conversion of some private breweries into joint stock companies, taking over shares and, above all, options. In the first year this was the Hansa brewery in Lübeck, the export beer brewery Jos. Diebels AG in Issum, the export beer brewery Aug. Peter AG in Königssee in Thuringia and the Kulmbacher Mälzerei AG vorm. J. Ruckdeschel. The bank was also involved in capital increases and the restructuring of existing stock corporations. So with the merger of the Actien-Brauerei-Gesellschaft Friedrichshöhe vorm. Patzenhofer and Actien-Brauerei-Gesellschaft Moabit in Berlin, the capital increase of the Winterhuder brewery in Hamburg, the bank took over shares and bonds from the Schlossbrauerei Kiel as part of the restructuring, the merged breweries in Aschaffenburg and the newly founded wine wholesaler Mérot Frères AG in Fentsch. These investments were to form the basis of the bank's business over the next few decades.

In 1903 the bank founded the Deutsche Bierbrauerei AG in Berlin in a larger transaction with a capital of 2 million marks. The Radeberger Exportbierbrauerei AG was dissolved and the Deutsche Bierbrauerei AG took over the operation in Radeberg. In 1905, the bank paid out the majority of the free shareholders and issued a 30-year bond with a coupon of 4.5% for refinancing, which was listed on the Dresden Stock Exchange. The bank now owned three quarters of the shares in Feldschlößchen and passed them on to Deutsche Bierbrauerei AG. The group later took over shares in the Einsiedel breweries near Chemnitz and Pichelsdorf near Berlin.

Another beer group in the bank's portfolio was Schöfferhof and Bürgerbräu in Frankfurt and the Kiel Breweries Association. At the beginning of the First World War, the bank had stakes in 25 German breweries. During the war, the knight's brewery in Dortmund was added, which had previously been owned by English owners.

In the Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was a challenge for all banks. The direct war damage was followed by German inflation from 1914 to 1923 and, at the end of the 1920s, the German banking crisis . The Braubank survived this time and was even able to pay a dividend every year except for 1923/24.

After the war, the bank had total assets of 14.6 million marks for the 1918/19 financial year and made a profit of 565,000 marks. The acquisition of brewery holdings was continued. In 1918/19 the stake in the Hansa-Bank was increased, in 1919/20 a stake in the Hofbräuhaus Hanau vorm. G. Ph. Nicolay AG and the Kalker Brauerei AG in Cologne. In the following financial year, the breweries in Frankfurt were consolidated: Schöfferhof-Bürgerbräu acquired the Binding AG brewery and the JJ Jung Erben brewery in Frankfurt am Main.

The period of inflation led to a further consolidation of the brewery market. In 1921/22 the Deutsche Bierbrauerei AG took over Feldschlößchen and Gambrinus in Dresden. From 1925 the company traded as Radeberger Exportbierbrauerei AG and moved its headquarters to Radeberg.

Capital development

The bank's capital developed as follows:

year capital
1899 7 million marks
1923 206 million marks
1924 3.1 million RM
1925 4 million RM
1926 6 million RM
1927 10 million RM
1928 13 million RM
1932 10 million RM
1942 RM 15 million

The increase in capital during the period of inflation is striking. In 1923/24 the management board reported a profit of 18,691,659,643,911,400 marks and commented on the figures in the annual report:

“The presentation of the balance sheet and profit and loss account for 1923/24 is only of formal significance. The figures shown in the books cannot claim any material value given the rapid change in currency relations at that time. We can only say in view of the numbers that our company recorded the values ​​invested in it throughout the reporting period and was able to strengthen itself here and there. "

- Annual report 1923/24

After the end of the inflation, the capital was carefully determined at 3.1 million marks and rose continuously in the following years. The holdings had retained their value during inflation; In contrast to other banks that had invested in government bonds, the Braubank emerged from the period of inflation unscathed and in 1929 had the following holdings in breweries:

brewery place country
Brewery Gebrüder Klein GmbH Hainichen Saxony and Thuringia
Leipzig beer brewery in Reudnitz, Riebeck & Co. AG Reudnitz Saxony and Thuringia
Radeberger Exportbierbrauerei AG Radeberg Saxony and Thuringia
Berliner Kindl Brewery AG Berlin Prussia
Hitdorfer Brewery Friede AG Cologne (management), Hitdorf (operations) Prussia
Hofbräuhaus Hanau vorm. C.Ph. Nicolay AG Hanau Prussia
Kloster-Brauerei AG Metternich near Koblenz Prussia
Schöfferhof-Binding-Bürgerbräu AG Frankfurt am Main Prussia
Brewery W. Isenbeck & Co. AG Hamm Prussia
Dortmunder Ritterbrauerei AG Dortmund Prussia
Glückauf Brewery AG Gelsenkirchen Prussia
Ueckermann brothers, brewery for the Felsenkeller near Herford Herford Prussia
Hansa brewery Lübeck Prussia
Bohrisch Brewery AG Szczecin Prussia
Gorkauer Societäts-Brauerei AG Gorkau Prussia
Aktienbrauerei zum Hasen augsburg Bavaria
Bavarian share brewery Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg Bavaria
Grüner-Bräu AG Fuerth Bavaria
H. Henninger Reifbräu AG gain Bavaria
Kulmbacher Rizzibräu AG Kulmbach Bavaria
Reichelbräu AG Kulmbach Bavaria
Esslinger Brewery Company Esslingen Württemberg
Ulm Brewery Society Ulm Württemberg

The global economic crisis led to a massive decline in beer consumption in Germany. In 1929 57.6 million hectoliters were sold, in 1932 it was 33.3 million. In addition to the lower purchasing power of the population, the good wine and fruit harvest in 1931 was the cause, which had led to price reductions for wine and fruit wines. The profit of the breweries and thus that of the bank fell accordingly. In order to still be able to distribute a dividend, the capital was reduced in a ratio of 6 to 5 in 1932. The bank had weathered the German banking crisis well because it had a fundamentally valuable portfolio and had a high equity ratio.

time of the nationalsocialism

Share of 100 RM in the Bank for Brewing Industry in Berlin from March 1933

The seizure of power by the National Socialists brought great uncertainty. The main shareholders of the bank, the brothers Arnhold were Jews and, as such, from the persecution of the Jews in the time of National Socialism affected. In September 1933, the Arnhold brothers' banking house had to accept a non-Jew into the management for the first time, and in 1935 the Arnholds sold the Dresden branch of their bank to the Dresdner Bank . The Arnholds' shares in the brewery were not sold. In autumn 1937 they also sold the rest of the company to Dresdner Bank. This had thus become the main shareholder of the Braubank. The Aryanization of the banking house Gebrüder Arnhold took place.

The brewery itself was not affected by the seizure of power. The board of directors and the supervisory board remained in office, business continued as before. The economic upturn in the next few years led to increased beer consumption and improved earnings. With the sale of the Dresdner part of the banking house Gebrüder Arnhold it was agreed that the Dresdner Bank should also be represented on the supervisory board of the Braubank. At the general meeting on October 14, 1935, the board member of Dresdner Bank Alfred Busch was elected to the supervisory board. In the following two years, the Jewish members of the board of directors and the supervisory board were systematically removed from office. At the same time the influence of Dresdner Bank increased. From 1938 Alfred Busch was chairman of the supervisory board and remained so until the end of the war. Walther Frisch , the previous chairman, became his deputy. The bank's headquarters were relocated to Berlin in 1937.

In 1939 the Braubank acquired half of the shares in the Engelhardt Brewery Group in Berlin from Dresdner Bank (which held the other half of the shares). Dresdner Bank acquired the shares in 1933/34 as part of the Aryanization. The Jewish general director Ignatz Nacher was a loan customer of Dresdner Bank. This forced him to sell his shares under the threat of canceling his loan. The city of Berlin had confiscated the rest of the shares under the pretext of a bribe and handed it over to Dresdner Bank. After the brewing bank was acquired, it should hold the shares. The Braubank sold smaller holdings for financing.

Dresdner Bank tried to acquire more shares. By 1945 she was able to acquire 49% of the shares, but she did not succeed in acquiring a majority of the shares.

post war period

On April 28, 1945, the Soviet city commandant of Berlin ordered all banks to be closed. Alfred Busch was in Soviet captivity, Walther Frisch had been appointed Lord Mayor of Lindau (Lake Constance) . The bank had effectively ceased operations. Since the board of directors and the supervisory board were unable to act, the Berlin-Mitte district court appointed three lawyers as members of the supervisory board in October 1946.

On November 16, 1947, the Braubank applied for renewed approval from the Wilhelmsdorf district office. Knowing about the restrictive banking policy, it was argued that it was not a bank at all, but a holding company . The arguments were not convincing, the bank remained closed. As a resumption of operations in Berlin did not seem possible, the general meeting decided on November 15, 1950 to move the headquarters to Frankfurt am Main.

At the same time, the Arnhold family raised restitution claims against Dresdner Bank. Although they had received a purchase price that was close to the market price, the funds were not allowed to be transferred abroad, where the Arnholds had fled and had been collected by the National Socialists. On May 15, 1950, a notarized settlement was made between the parties, which agreed on the return of extensive assets, including the shares in the brewery bank sold in 1938.

At the Annual General Meeting on November 15, 1950, Henry H. Arnhold was the first family member to be re-elected to the Supervisory Board. As early as 1951, however, the family separated from their stake and sold the 39% of the share capital that they held to Dr. August Oetker KG .

Reconstruction in the West

The bank had to cease its banking business, but the brewery holdings remained with it. At least the ones in the west. The Mährisch-Ostrauer Stadtbrauerei AG and the Union Brauerei AG in Metz were now located abroad and were just as lost as the breweries in the Soviet Zone , which had been nationalized there. The breweries in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Friedberg (Hesse) and Aschaffenburg were the core of the investment portfolio. There were a total of 9 participations. With the onset of the economic miracle and the "began feeding wave " along with a "Saufwelle". Beer consumption rose from 17.2 million hectoliters in 1950 to 52.6 million hectoliters in 1960. The earnings situation of the breweries improved accordingly and the bank's 1951/52 annual report was again able to report on dividends received. The banking business was also resumed and financing services were carried out for the breweries. 1956 the Braubank gave up the shares in the Engelhardt brewery. This was part of a settlement in the restitution matter for this company.

In 1952 the bank had its offices in Frankfurt at Bettinastraße 56 and moved to Neue Mainzer Straße 52 the following year. In 1954, the architect Klaus Ohlwein built his own building for the brewery in Taunusanlage 16. In 1958 this house was sold to the West Bank . Today the Deutsche Bank skyscraper is located there .

Dresdner Bank continued to be the second largest shareholder after Oetker. Both were interested in the booming brewery business. Dresdner Bank, however, had no interest in banking and aimed to transform it into a pure holding company. Since neither side had a majority, both sides began to buy shares in the market to gain a majority. In September 1957, Oetker had won the race. He and the allied Bankhaus Lampe held 51.7%, Dresdner Bank had 36.4% of the shares, the rest was free float .

After the balance of power had been clarified, Dresdner Bank withdrew from the brewery bank. She sold her 36% stake in Oetker. At the same time, participation packages were exchanged. The Dresdner Bank received the shares of 41% in the Dortmund knight brewery, the Braubank received shares in Berliner Kindl, Binding and others from the Dresdner Bank. Both blocks of shares were each worth DM 13.9 million.

In the Oetker Group

In the 1960s, too, the profits of the breweries and with them that of the brewery were bubbling up. However, the balance within the Oetker Group shifted at the expense of the bank. The beer business had always been a regional business. But now the strategy was to market beers sold nationally. The same brand should be brewed in different breweries and marketed nationally. Oetker saw the Binding brand as the national brand of his group. Binding therefore took over shares in various regional breweries, including from the brewery bank. From 1970 the number of participations continued to decrease. At the end of this process, the Braubank still had three holdings: Binding, Berliner Kindl and the Osnabrücker Aktienbrauerei. The Oetker Group's beer business was no longer managed by the bank, but by Binding.

In the mid-1970s, beer consumption in Germany had reached its peak. At the same time, competitive pressure increased, and breweries' earnings plummeted. The regional Osnabrück share brewery, which brewed beer at high costs, was hit hardest. From 1983 the Dortmund share brewery took over the production, the Osnabrück share brewery fell to a pure brand. In 1988 the shares in Berliner Kindl were exchanged for shares in Binding. Binding was the last remaining brewery holding.

Freiherr vom Stein Strasse 65, place of business from 1975

While the beer business declined in importance, efforts were made to expand the banking business. As a second pillar alongside corporate banking, private banking began to be offered in the mid-1970s . In 1975 the bank acquired the listed Villa Kissel at Freiherr-vom-Stein-Strasse 65 as a representative headquarters . This business led to strong growth in the 1980s. In 1976 there were 21 employees, by 1992 the number was 93, including employees in a representative office in Zurich. In 1986 the balance sheet total reached one billion DM.

Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft

The change in the business area led to a change of name. On June 6, 1986, the general meeting decided to change the company's name to Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft founded 1899 AG. A few years later, the bank fell into a crisis. Income had fallen since the early 1990s. In 1994 there were two major corporate collapses, which also brought Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft to the brink of ruin. The bank was involved with extensive loans both to the Procedo Gesellschaft für Exportfactoring D. Klindworth mbH (20 million DM) and to the real estate entrepreneur Jürgen Schneider (16 million DM). Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft was only able to save a support loan from Oetker of 42 million DM. The banking company was already closely linked in organizational terms with the Oetker Group's second credit institution, Bankhaus Lampe. Above all, the still existing free float, which had to be settled, spoke against a merger of the two companies. In June 1995 a takeover offer was made to the free shareholders at a price of 10% above the market value. In the end, Oetker owned 99.33% of the shares. At the last general meeting on June 9, 1998, it was decided to transfer the banking business to Bankhaus Lampe.

The AG itself changed its name to BBG-Beteiligungs-AG and remained a pure holding company for the binding share. After the last free shareholders had been settled in 2002, the company was converted into a GmbH in 2003 and merged with another Oetker company.

people

Board

  • Richard Chrzescinski (1899-1911)
  • Max Frank (1899-1917)
  • Paul Salomon (1911-1912)
  • Maximilian Stein (1911-1916)
  • Felix Fruth (1913-1916)
  • Oskar Thieben (1916-1936)
  • Johannes Krüger (1918–1934)
  • Wilhelm Graetz (1918–1920)
  • Alfred Behrend (1921–1937)
  • Hans Friedmann (1926–1936)
  • Carl W. Schneider (1934-1943)
  • Bernhard Scheublein (1937–1942)
  • Hans Rinn (1943–1947)
  • Fritz André (1947–1952)
  • Kurt Krüger (1950–1952)
  • Carl Melien (1953-1956)
  • Herbert Reichelt (1956–1958)
  • Hans Heuer (1958–1968)
  • Erwin Schmidt (1958–1968)
  • Rudolf von Ribbentrop (1967–1983)
  • Hans-Helmut Krüger (1968–1970)
  • Horst Dickehuth (1970–1975)
  • Helmut Nieland (1975–1980)
  • Christian Graf von Bassewitz (1977–1985)
  • Helmut Reichert (1980–1992)
  • Jürgen Freiherr von Maltzan (1984–1995)
  • Christian Graf von Bassewitz (1991–1998)
  • Karl-Hein Franke (1992–1998)
  • Rudolf E. Dösch (1995–1998)

literature

  • Manfred Köhler: As trustworthy as a confessor and with nerves like ship ropes. 2011, ISBN 978-3-9802712-1-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ on August 18, 1932 by withdrawing own shares and on September 22, 1932 by amalgamating 6: 5