The Bavarian State Bank (German: Bayerische Staatsbank) was a German government-owned bank, initially founded in 1780 and merged into Bayerische Vereinsbank in 1971.
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History
In 1780, Margrave Alexander of Brandenburg-Ansbach, inspired by the example of the Prussian Royal Bank in Berlin, founded the Hochfürstlich-Brandenburg-Anspach-Bayreuthische Hofbanco (lit. 'Princely Court Bank of Brandenburg-Anspach-Bayreuth') in Ansbach, using a small amount of 15,000 guilders as operating capital. The margrave resorted to this plan for economic reasons, as he wanted to avoid the fees charged by the foreign banks and access the aid funds provided by England for his soldier trade. The American Revolutionary War between England and France in North America had led England to conclude contracts with German counts and request troops from them in exchange for aid funds. In 1792, the Principality of Ansbach was taken over by Prussia and the bank was renamed Königlich Preußische Banco in Franken. In 1806, Ansbach became part of Bavaria and the bank became Königlich Baierische Banco, then Königliche Bank Nürnberg as its seat was relocated to Nuremberg in 1807. It opened operations in Würzburg in 1835, then in Augsburg and Munich in 1875, the latter known as the Royal Subsidiary Bank (German: Königliche Filialbank).
The end of the monarchy in Bavaria in 1918 saw the renaming of the bank to Bavarian State Bank. It was eventually acquired by the Vereinsbank in 1971.
In late 2023, a luxury Rosewood hotel opened in the former building of the State Bank in Munich, including the adjacent 18th-century Palais Neuhaus-Preysing which the bank had purchased in 1898.
Leadership
1780–1792: Wilhelm Friedrich von Benkendorff
1792–1806: Karl August von Hardenberg
1806–1819: Johann Georg von Kracker
1819–1839: Johann Georg Eberhard Faber
1839–1845: Johann Philipp Siess
1845–1851: Christian Friedrich Heinrich Lentz
1851–1861: Johann Gottfried Christian von Mayer
1861–1862: Friedrich Carl Burkart
1862–1878: Christian von Pfeufer
1878–1898: Ferdinand von Landgraf
1898–1909: Andreas von Seisser
1909–1915: Wilhelm von Burkhard
1915–1919: Franz von Coluzzi
1919–1928: Hugo Arnold
1928–1934: Wilhelm von Wolf
1934–1942: Paul Hammer
1942–1945: Albert Gorter
1945–1954: Karl Max von Hellingrath
1954–1964: Alfred Jamin
1964–1971: Rudolf Eberhard