Lending Office

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A lending office (also: pawn shop, pawn shop, pawn shop or pawn shop) is a municipal or state institution that issues a pawn loan in return for a movable item. They are non-profit institutions that historically should counteract the usury of private pawnbrokers . However, nowadays private pawn shops are sometimes subject to stricter regulations than non-profit institutions. Until the 1970s, there were up to 35 so-called public pawn shops in Germany in addition to private pawnbrokers.

functionality

Abuse should be prevented through clear rules for the loan , precisely defined fees and state control of the establishment.

The value of the deposited deposit is determined by sworn appraisers. The loan , including interest, is around 20 percent below its appraised value. The interest rates are well above the usual interest rate (e.g. July 2006: 3% per month, corresponds to 36% per year). Pawn certificates are issued for deposits and loans.

If the loan (including the interest) is not repaid at the agreed time or the pawn ticket is extended for a fee, the pledge will be auctioned off publicly.

history

The first public pawnshop was founded in Perugia in 1462 by the Franciscan Barnada . The original name was " Monti di pietà " (= mountains of compassion).

The oldest public pawn shop in Germany was founded in Hamburg in 1560, followed by Augsburg in 1603 , Nuremberg in 1618, Mannheim in 1809 and Stuttgart in 1872.

The Royal Lending Office , which opened in Berlin in 1834 , was used until 1990. At the moment there is only one lending office in Germany of the former 35 (Mannheim). The Augsburg lending office was closed at the end of 2018.

Two other institutions are under municipal influence: The Nuremberg pawnshop has a non-profit, registered association as a sponsor , which is under the supervision of the city of Nuremberg. This former imperial city started its establishment in 1618. In Stuttgart, the pawn shop is run in the legal form of a non-profit stock corporation .

Lending offices are and were integrated into the line organization of the city administrations, such as B. the lending office in Augsburg, which was a department of the finance office. Other lending offices were self-owned, ie legally dependent institutions, which, however, operated independently in the special assets of the municipality.

Current situation

One of the main reasons why there are hardly any public lending offices left is the increasing loss of importance of cash from the end of the 1950s (see e.g. wage packet ).

However, many loan offices were also run inefficiently and were overregulated by city regulations. Although private competitors have flourished, z. B. the lending offices in Cologne, Munich and Hamburg.

Lending offices outside of Germany

  • France: As the name suggests, the pawn shop and banking house Crédit Municipal de Paris has been a state institution since 1637.
  • Austria: The Dorotheum, based in Vienna and founded in 1707, was state-owned until 1979 and was then converted into a GmbH.
  • Switzerland: In addition to private pawn shops in Lugano and Geneva (which are under state supervision), there is a special feature in the canton of Zurich: Zürcher Kantonalbank has operated a branch as a pawn shop since 1872.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ § 34 GewO - single standard. Retrieved October 31, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b Beatrice Oßberger: Pawn shops: When the bank says no . In: THE WORLD . March 11, 2018 ( welt.de [accessed October 30, 2018]).
  3. ^ Kurt Woelck: Local politics of the political parties - state affairs in the communities . In: Josef Brix, Hugo Lindemann and Otto Most (Hrsg.): Concise dictionary of communal sciences . tape 3 . Gustav Fischer Jena, Jena 1924, p. 276-280 .
  4. ^ A b Carl-Jochen Müller: The large cupboard from Mannheim. From the chronicle of the municipal loan office . In: Ulrich Nieß (Hrsg.): Small writings of the Mannheim City Archives . No. 24 . EDITION QUADRAT, Mannheim 2009, ISBN 978-3-941001-03-9 , pp. 10 .
  5. ↑ Städtische Pfandleihe - Städtische Pfandleihanstalt Stuttgart AG since 1872. Retrieved on October 30, 2018 .
  6. ^ WORLD: After 415 years: Oldest lending office is closed . In: THE WORLD . November 11, 2017 ( welt.de [accessed October 31, 2018]).
  7. ^ WORLD: After 415 years: Oldest lending office is closed . In: THE WORLD . November 11, 2017 ( welt.de [accessed October 31, 2018]).
  8. ↑ Bruno Schrep: PFANDHÄUSER: The last way out . In: Der Spiegel . tape 37 , September 7, 2009 ( spiegel.de [accessed October 31, 2018]).
  9. ^ Houda Laroussi: Le prêt sur gage au Crédit municipal de Paris - Clientèle et mondes sociaux . Ed .: Karthala - CMP. Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-8111-0589-1 , pp. 13 .
  10. ↑ Daniela Gregori - Cathrine Stukhard: Dorotheum - The first 300 years . Ed .: Brandstätter. Brandstätter, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-85033-057-2 , p. 118 f .
  11. ^ Matthias von Wartburg: A visit to the youngest pawn shop in Switzerland. A life on deposit. In: Blick - www.blick.ch. Ringier AG, December 25, 2017, accessed on October 31, 2018 .