A. Schaaffhausen'scher Bank Association

The corporation of A. Schaaffhausen'scher Bank Association was a bank based in Cologne and was the first joint stock company legally recognised as a Bank in Germany.

Company History

In 1791 Abraham Schaaffhausen founded his private bank, one of the first and most important financial resources for the growing Rhineland-Westphalia area and its involvement in heavy industry. In 1848, the bank found itself facing solvency issues, and on March 29, 1848 they were forced to cease payment. Under national guarantees, and acting upon the advice of the Prussian Finance Minister (and later founder of the Disconto-Association), David Hansemann, the bank was allowed to be salvaged by other bankers under the leadership of Gustav Mevissen. To this end, the Prussian government first sanctioned a bank in the form of a joint stock company - the A. Schaaffhausen'schen Bank Association. As soon as 1852 the bank was able to pay back the aid it had received from the state.

In competition with both of the other big banks in the Rhineland, the Essener Credit-Institute and the Bergisch-Märkischen Bank, the Bank Association was able to augment itself with branches in western Germany. In 1904 it was able to take over the Westdeutsche Bank (located in Bonn). Between 1904 and 1909 the Bank Association was involved in a joint venture with the Dresdner Bank. In 1913 the A. Schaaffhausen'sche Bank Association was the largest German regional bank and was involved in numerous industial interests.

In 1914 the Bank Association was taken over by the Disconto-Association, although it remained a stand-alone credit institute until 1929. Not until the fusion of the Disconto-Association with the Deutsche Bank in 1929 was the Bank Association completely merged with the Disconto-Association and then became a part of the Deutsche-Bank-Concern.

People Associated with the Bank

Well-known bankers of the Bank Association were:
* Gustav von Mevissen "(Manager from 1848-1857)"
* Karl Mathy "(Director from 1854-1855)"
* Carl Klönne "(Manager from 1879-1900)"
* Hermann Fischer "(Manager from 1912-1919)"

External links

* [http://www.bankgeschichte.de/04_16_03b.html Company history from the site for the Institute of History of German Banks]

References

This article was translated from the article on the German Wikipedia on [http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A._Schaaffhausen%27scher_Bankverein&direction=next&oldid=6230809 December 07, 2005]