German country bank

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The German countries Bank AG (until 30 June 1922 German Colonial Bank AG) led a group Bank of Baden Aniline & Soda-Fabrik AG and succeeded IG Farben AG banking and commercial transactions of all kinds thanks. Closed by the Soviet occupying power in 1945, it was only able to resume operations in 1953 under the name Westdeutsche Handelsbank AG. From 1953 she conducted banking transactions with large companies and wealthy private individuals at home and abroad. From 1960 to 1985 the institute traded again as Deutsche Länderbank AG, and then merged as Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft (Deutschland) AG in the Swiss Bank Corporation.

history

Deutsche Kolonialbank AG

Deutsche Kolonialbank AG, Berlin , founded on December 30, 1909 and registered in the commercial register on January 14, 1910 , was active in banking with the German colonies and trading in colonial values ​​until the end of the First World War . After the loss of the German colonies as a result of the defeat in the First World War, the business area was to be expanded to include banking with industry, especially the textile industry, in 1919. For this purpose it was decided to increase the share capital from M 1 million to M 10 million.

Commercial building of Deutsche Länderbank AG in Berlin, Unter den Linden 78, in 1925 (bombed out in 1944 and later demolished)

Intermezzo in the Körner Group

New construction of a commercial building

From 1920 the Allgemeine Depositenbank, Vienna , acquired the majority of shares in the Kolonialbank and sold it on to the Körner Werke Vereinigte Holz-, Bau- und Industrie-AG, Vienna. Behind this company was Oscar von Körner , who had made great fortunes during the inflationary period . He planned a considerable expansion for the colonial bank. For this he left on the property in Berlin, Unter den Linden 78 (from 1937 by changing the counting Unter den Linden 82 52 ° 31 ′ 0.2 ″  N , 13 ° 22 ′ 47.1 ″  E ), which was owned by Fugger Grundstücks-AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the colonial bank, built an impressive commercial building between 1921 and 1922.

Change of name to Deutsche Länderbank AG

On July 1, 1922, the colonial bank changed its name to Deutsche Länderbank AG, Berlin. Its business purpose was changed to banking and commercial transactions of all kinds as well as the indirect or direct participation in companies of the same or related type and their acquisition. The institute's most valuable asset at the time was the new office building, as business operations had almost come to a standstill. When Körner got into an economic predicament as a result of failed currency speculation, he was forced to sell the shares of the Länderbank.

Deutsche Länderbank AG shares from 1942

Group bank of IG Farbenindustrie

In 1923 and 1924, BASF took over 80% of the share capital of Länderbank and thus became the majority shareholder. Although 64% of the share capital is in the Ed. Greutert & Cie. (from 1940 H. Sturzenegger & Cie., since 1984 Baumann & Cie, Banquiers ), Basel , the Länderbank received the status of a group bank of IG Farben. Between 1930 and 1939, the IG Farben Group seems to have had very high credit balances at the Länderbank, with an average of RM 250 million. On the other hand, the bank guaranteed the group direct refinancing from the Reichsbank without adhering to a credit line . The excellent relationships between the chairman of the IG Farben supervisory board, Hermann Schmitz , and the Sturzenegger & Cie. helped IG Farben to receive loans from Swiss banks through the Länderbank during the Second World War . During the war, the Länderbank provided support in taking over chemical plants in the occupied territories by IG Farben. However , IG Farben handled payment transactions through Deutsche Bank und Discontogesellschaft , Berlin.

Länderbank's share capital of RM 5 million was increased to RM 15 million in two issues in 1924 and 1942.

In the spring of 1945, the Deutsche Länderbank, like all Berlin banks, was closed by the Soviet occupying power . The institute's supervisory board and management board were suspended and investigations into the activities of all employees were initiated.

Business resumption

On October 30, 1953, the bank was released from the control of the IG Farben committee of the occupying powers. The dismissal took place on the condition that the bank did not work for successor companies of IG Farben again. The shares in the bank were held by IG Farben-Ableger Internationale Industrie- und Handelsbeteiligungen AG (also called Interhandel), Basel, the majority of which were in Swiss hands at the time. The company name of the bank was changed to Westdeutsche Handelsbank Aktiengesellschaft in order to avoid confusion with the Bank deutscher Länder . In addition to the company headquarters in Berlin, the headquarters in Frankfurt am Main was established. Provisional premises at Bockenheimer Landstrasse 55 were occupied. Soon afterwards, the Länderbank relocated to a commercial building at Bockenheimer Landstrasse 23 ( 50 ° 6 ′ 57.2 ″  N , 8 ° 40 ′ 5.3 ″  E ). Another location was opened in Berlin-Charlottenburg , Kantstrasse 1 ( 52 ° 30 ′ 19.4 ″  N , 13 ° 19 ′ 59.2 ″  E ). In 1960 the bank therefore took on the name Deutsche Länderbank AG, Berlin - Frankfurt am Main.

Even without a branch system, the bank was able to establish itself well in the market. In 1961 it was able to reduce the share capital from DM 15 million to DM 9.5 million by buying back shares. In 1965 the share capital was increased again by DM 2.5 million to DM 12 million.

Subsidiary of Dresdner Bank AG

In 1965, after taking over Interhandel AG, Basel, the Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft became the sole shareholder of Deutsche Länderbank AG. In 1969 Dresdner Bank AG , Frankfurt am Main, initially took over 75% and in 1980 also the remaining 25% of the share capital, which was increased to DM 45 million in 1973 and 1976. In the following year it merged the Hardy-Sloman Bank GmbH , whose restructuring the Dresdner Bank had not succeeded, into the Länderbank. This started the decline of the Länderbank. In 1981 it made a loss of DM 90 million. As a result, Länderbank was more closely integrated into the Dresdner Bank Group in the following year through the conclusion of a domination and profit and loss transfer agreement.

Incorporation into the Swiss Bank Corporation

After the Deutsche Bundesbank had allowed foreign credit institutions based in the Federal Republic of Germany to take over the lead in the issuance of DM foreign bonds, the German banking market also became interesting for foreign banks. In 1985 the Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft bought back Deutsche Länderbank AG and renamed it Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft (Deutschland) AG. The double seat of the company was abolished. The Berlin branch of the institute remained with the Dresdner Bank.

Corporate governance

(without claim of completeness)

Members of the supervisory board

  • Leopold Steinthal, chairman, verifiable from 1915 to 1918
  • Oskar von Truppel , verifiable from 1915 to 1918
  • Max Scheefer, verifiable from 1915 to 1918
  • Albrecht von Rechenberg , from 1919 to 1924
  • Ernst Oppenheimer, from 1919
  • Oscar von Körner, chairman, verifiable from 1922 to 1923
  • Karl Bräunig, traceable from 1922 to 1924
  • Ismar Goldstein, verifiable in 1922
  • Georg W. Meyer, verifiable in 1922
  • Max von Ratibor and Corvey , verifiable from 1922 to 1923
  • Ferdinand Maximilian zu Ysenburg-Büdingen, verifiable from 1922 to 1924
  • Ferdinand Rinkel, chairman, from 1924 to 1925
  • Max Apt , 1924 to 1925
  • Wolfgang Fehling, 1924 to 1925
  • Hermann Schmitz , chairman from 1926 to 1945
  • Hermann Kißler , from 1925 to 1945
  • Nathanael Brückner , from 1934 on to 1943
  • Paul Lederer, from 1925 to 1937
  • Ferdinand Rinkel, from 1926 to 1937
  • Franz Schroeder , from around 1939 to 1945.
  • Walter Germann, chairman from 1953
  • Edmund Wehrli-Bleuler , deputy chairman from 1953
  • Georg Gerlach, employee representative from 1953
  • Jürgen Ponto , chairman from 1970 to 1977
  • Helmut Haeusgen , from 1970
  • Bruno M. Saager, from 1970
  • Carl Friedrich Mahr, verifiable in 1970
  • Hans-Joachim Schreiber, chairman until 1981

Board members

  • Julius Hellmann, verifiable from 1913 to 1923
  • Eduard Gans, verifiable from 1922–1924
  • Robert Hils, verifiable from 1922–1924
  • Alexander Hoffmann, until 1923
  • Ismar Goldstein, 1923
  • Nathanael Brückner, 1925–1933
  • Karl Pfeiffer, 1924–1945
  • Ernst Hülsmann, verifiable from 1926–1934
  • Carl Vogeli, deputy chairman, 1923
  • Willy Steinmann, deputy member of the board, 1923
  • Carl E. von Kühlmann, deputy member of the board, 1923
  • Kurt Oppenheimer, deputy member of the board, 1923
  • Erich Sältz, deputy member of the board, 1923–1924
  • Wilhelm Findorff, deputy director, 1923–1924
  • Felix Caro, deputy director, 1924–1933
  • Willy Schmidt, deputy director, verifiable in 1924
  • Heinrich Boedecker, deputy director 1934–1945
  • Carl Friedrich Mahr, 1953–1965
  • Philippe Aubert de la Rue, from 1953
  • Otto Bieleke, 1970–1971
  • Paul Brüser, deputy chairman 1966–1971
  • Hans-Helmut Krüger, 1970–1982
  • Dr. Leo Uhen, 1970–1982
  • Manfred G. Schneider-Rothhaar, from 1981
  • Klaus Garde, from 1981

literature

  • Henning Jost: Old Berlin in color. Verlag Sutton, Erfurt 2013, ISBN 978-3-95400-163-7 .
  • Thomas Kalveram (editor): Bank Lexicon. Concise dictionary for banking and savings banks. Ed .: Betriebswirtschaftlicher Verlag Dr. Th. Gabler GmbH. 8th edition, Wiesbaden 1978, ISBN 978-3-322-96130-3 , Sp. 1825, online .
  • Mario König : The Swiss holding company IG Farben and its metamorphoses - an affair about property and interests (1910–1999). Independent Expert Commission Switzerland - Second World War - Commission Indépendante d'Experts Suisse - Seconde Guerre Mondiale . Volume 2. Chronos Verlag, Zurich 2001. ISBN 978-3-0340-0602-6 .
  • Volker Koop: The dirty fortune. The Third Reich, IG Farben and Switzerland. Siedler, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-88680-811-3 .
  • Gerhard Müller, Josef Löffelholz (arrangement): Bank-Lexikon. Concise dictionary for banking and savings banks . 7th edition. Springer, Wiesbaden 1973, ISBN 978-3-663-00090-7 , Sp. 476 f., Online .
  • Hermann Schmitz: Construction of the Deutsche Länderbank AG., Berlin. Decorative art. Applied Arts Journal. Volume 33. Vol. 28. Bruckmann, Munich 1925, p. 233ff, online .
  • The Farben Group in 1928. IG Farbenindustrie A.-G. Your subsidiaries and holdings. Structure, statistics, finances. Hoppenstedt, Berlin-Wilmersdorf 1928.
  • O [tto] Warburg, F [erdinand] Wohltmann (ed.): The tropical planter. Journal of Tropical Agriculture. Organ of the Colonial Economic Committee. Economic Committee of the German Colonial Society. Born 19. Berlin 1916, p. 460f, online .
  • O [tto] Warburg, F [erdinand] Wohltmann (ed.): The tropical planter. Journal of Tropical Agriculture. Organ of the Colonial Economic Committee. Economic Committee of the German Colonial Society. Vol. 20. Berlin 1917, p. 423f, online .
  • O [tto] Warburg, F [erdinand] Wohltmann (ed.): The tropical planter. Journal of Tropical Agriculture. Organ of the Colonial Economic Committee. Economic Committee of the German Colonial Society. Vol. 21 Berlin 1918, p. 171, online .
  • O [tto] Warburg, F [erdinand] Wohltmann (ed.): The tropical planter. Journal of Tropical Agriculture. Organ of the Colonial Economic Committee. Economic Committee of the German Colonial Society. Vol. 22. Berlin 1919, p. 330, online .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c securities sold ... Deutsche Länderbank liquidated. In: The time. Born 1962, No. 35. August 31, 1962, accessed on January 19, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b Thomas Kalveram (editor): Bank Lexikon. Concise dictionary for banking and savings banks . Ed .: Betriebswirtschaftlicher Verlag Dr. Th. Gabler GmbH. 8th edition Verlag Dr. Th. Gabler GmbH, Wiesbaden 1978, ISBN 3-322-96130-3 , Sp. 1825 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Charlottenburg Local Court of Berlin: Commercial Register of the Charlottenburg Local Court. HR B 80.
  4. ↑ a b c O [tto] Warburg, F [erdinand] Wohltmann (ed.): Der Tropenpflanzer. Journal of Tropical Agriculture. Organ of the Colonial Economic Committee. Economic Committee of the German Colonial Society . Born 19. Berlin 1916, p. 460 f .
  5. ^ W. Christians (ed.): Der Deutsche Oekonomist . tape 39 . Verlag Wilhelm Christians, Berlin 1921, p. 283 .
  6. ^ P. Barrett Whale: Joint Stock Banking in Germany. A Study of the German Creditbanks before and after the War . 1st edition. 1930, p. 233 FN 4 .
  7. ↑ a b Ernst Neckarsulmer: The old and the new wealth . Verlag F. Fontane, Berlin 1925, p. 179 ff .
  8. ^ Verlag R. & H. Hoppenstedt (ed.): The colors group 1928. The IG Farbenindustrie A.-G. Your subsidiaries and holdings. Structure, statistics, finances . Verlag R. & H. Hoppenstedt, Berlin-Wilmersdorf 1928, p. 19 .
  9. ^ Heinrich Schnee (Ed.): German Colonial Lexicon . tape 1 , AG. Verlag von Quelle & Meyer, Leipzig 1920, p. 132 .
  10. ↑ Wolfram Engels, Hans Pohl (Ed.): German Yearbook of Business History 1984 . Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, Tokyo 1984, ISBN 3-642-70528-6 , pp. 87 .
  11. ^ Gottfried Plumpe: The IG Farbenindustrie AG. Economy. Technology and Politics 1904-1945 . In: Writings on social history 37 . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-428-06892-0 , pp. 165 .
  12. ↑ a b c d Audit report. International Society for Chemical Enterprises. AG. (IG Chemie, Basel). (or since December 19, 1945, Internationale Industrie- und Handelsbeteiligungen AG, Basel). Bankhaus E. Sturzenegger & Cie., Basel (formerly Ed. Greuter & Cie., Basel). (PDF) Dodis Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland 1848-1975, March 8, 1946, p. 498ff , accessed on January 19, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Volker Koop: The dirty fortune. The Third Reich, IG Farben and Switzerland . Verlag Siedler, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-88680-811-4 , p. 57 f .
  14. ↑ Welcome investors or national sell-off? Foreign direct investment in East Central Europe in the 20th century . In: Jutta Günther, Dagmara Jajesniak-Quast (ed.): Frankfurt studies on the economic and social history of East Central Europe . tape 15 . BWV Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-8305-1186-8 , p. 152 .
  15. ^ Gerald Spindler: Law and corporate group. Interdependencies of legal and corporate development in Germany and the USA between 1870 and 1933 . JCB Mohr (Paul Siebeck), Tübingen 1993, ISBN 3-16-146123-1 , p. 132 .
  16. ↑ Peter Frühwald: Did you know that occupation law still applies in Germany? An educational book for all mature Germans and Austrians! Allied Shaef Legislation . epubli, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-8442-8899-5 , p. 55 f .
  17. ↑ Fritz Hofstetler: presentation of the case Interhandel (until early 1957). (PDF) Dodis Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland 1848-1975, 1957, p. 317ff , accessed on January 20, 2017 .
  18. ↑ Bruno M. Saager: A look back at the Interhandel, the Deutsche Länderbank and the relations of the SGB to the German economy. (PDF) In: Dodis Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland 1848-1975. 1968, p. 350 , accessed January 19, 2017 (verbatim copy).
  19. ↑ a b c d Stahlwerke Südwestfalen: 270,000 t. In: The time. Born 1953, No. 46. November 12, 1953, accessed on January 19, 2017 .
  20. ^ BFB Branch Fernsprechbuch GmbH (ed.): Official telephone directory for the district of the Landespostdirektion Berlin. Business telephone directory 1962/63 . BFB Branch Fernsprechbuch GmbH, Berlin-Charlottenburg, p. 64 .
  21. ↑ Mario König: Interhandel: The Swiss Holding of IG Farben and its Metamorphoses - an Affair about Property and Interests (1910–1999) . In: Publications of the ICE. Studies and contributions to research . Chronos Verlag, Zurich 2001, ISBN 3-0340-0602-0 ( uek.ch [PDF; accessed on January 19, 2017]).
  22. ↑ Hans E. Büschgen: The big banks. In: Paperback books for money, banking and the stock market 14 . Fritz Knapp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1983, ISBN 3-7819-1118-7 , p. 163 .
  23. ↑ Kurt Wendt: Deutsche Bank is expanding its lead. In: Die Zeit born in 1982 No. 16. April 16, 1982, accessed on January 19, 2017 .
  24. ↑ A powerful team. In: Der Spiegel. Born 1986, No. 36. September 1, 1986, p. 81f , accessed on January 19, 2017 .
  25. ^ O [tto] Warburg, F [erdinand] Wohltmann (ed.): The tropical planter. Journal of Tropical Agriculture. Organ of the Colonial Economic Committee. Economic Committee of the German Colonial Society . Vol. 20. Berlin 1917, p. 423 f .
  26. ^ O [tto] Warburg, F [erdinand] Wohltmann (ed.): The tropical planter. Journal of Tropical Agriculture. Organ of the Colonial Economic Committee. Economic Committee of the German Colonial Society . Vol. 21. Berlin 1918, p. 171 .
  27. ^ Early documents and newspaper articles on Deutsche Länderbank AG. In: 20th century press kit. German Central Library for Economics (ZBW), accessed on September 4, 2017 .
  28. ↑ Represent something. In: Der Spiegel. Born 1976, No. 32. August 2, 1976, p. 50f , accessed on January 19, 2017 .
  29. ^ Volkmar Muthesius (editor): Journal for the entire credit system . tape 23 , no. 9 . Verlag F. Knapp, Frankfurt am Main 1970, p. 374 .
  30. ↑ Managers and Markets. In: The time. Born in 1981, No. 53 , December 25, 1981, accessed on January 19, 2017 .
  31. ^ O [tto] Warburg, F [erdinand] Wohltmann (ed.): The tropical planter. Journal of Tropical Agriculture. Organ of the Colonial Economic Committee. Economic Committee of the German Colonial Society . Vol. 20. Berlin 1917, p. 423 f .
  32. ^ O [tto] Warburg, F [erdinand] Wohltmann (ed.): The tropical planter. Journal of Tropical Agriculture. Organ of the Colonial Economic Committee. Economic Committee of the German Colonial Society . Vol. 21. Berlin 1918, p. 171 .
  33. ↑ Verlag Lütcke & Wulff (Ed.): AbeBooks.de ZVAB Search in the library All dealers »Search for books on Google Play. Browse through the world's largest eBook store and read it on the web, on your tablet, phone or e-reader today. Go to Google Play »My Books Official Gazette. Supplement to the Hamburg Law and Ordinance Gazette . Verlag Lütcke & Wulff, Hamburg 1923, p. 1023 .
  34. ^ Rudolf Vierhaus (ed.): German Biographical Encyclopedia . 2nd Edition. tape 2 , Brann - Einslin. Verlag KG Saur, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-598-25032-0 , p. 115 .
  35. ↑ a b c Volker Koop: The dirty fortune. The Third Reich, IG Farben and Switzerland . Verlag Siedler, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-88680-811-4 , p. 317 .
  36. ^ Werner Eugen Mosse, Hans Pohl: Jewish entrepreneurs in Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries . In: Journal of Company History . Supplement 64 F. Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-515-05869-9 , p. 97 .
  37. ^ Early documents and newspaper articles on Deutsche Länderbank AG. In: 20th century press kit. German Central Library for Economics (ZBW), accessed on September 4, 2017 .