1870 to 1923
Ship owner C. Woermann was the first chairman of the super-visory board of Commerz- und Disconto-Bank from 1870 to 1880.
The new building designed by Martin Haller in the street Ness in Hamburg was opened in April 1874.
Commerz- und Disconto-Bank share from 1905, converted to Reichsmarks
The Brandenburg branch was opened in 1914.
| 1870 | On 26 February a number of merchants, merchant bankers and private bankers found the Commerz- und Disconto-Bank in Hamburg in the form of a joint-stock company. Companies involved include Conrad Hinrich Donner, Carl Geo. Heise, Hesse Newman & Co., Lieben Königswarter, Emile Nölting & Co., Wm. O'Swald, M. M. Warburg & Co., Theodor Wille, C. Woermann in Altona und Hamburg, Mendelssohn & Co. in Berlin, B. H. Goldschmidt in Frankfurt am Main and L. E. Amsinck & Co. in New York. The bank becomes operative on 25 April, and its first balance sheet of 31 December that year reveals a total amount of 6.13 million banco marks (roughly 9.2 million marks). |
| 1871 | The Hamburg-South American Steamship Company (Hamburg-Süd) is established in November, with Commerz- und Disconto-Bank as one of the founder members. |
| 1873 | The London and Hanseatic Bank in London is opened. Commerz- und Disconto-Bank holds more than half of the nominal capital of £666,000. This stake is maintained until the First World War. No dividend is paid, owing to the economic crisis occurring after the creation of the German Reich. |
| 1878 | Commerz- und Disconto-Bank issues its first bond, the 5 % Göteborg municipal bond. |
| 1881 | German and Austrian banks establish Nationalbank für Deutschland in Berlin. Commerz- und Disconto-Bank takes over 10 % of equity capital (= 4 million marks). |
| 1893 | Commerz- und Disconto-Bank forms part of consortium to restructure Schuckert & Co. as Elektrizitäts-Aktiengesellschaft vorm. Schuckert & Co., Nuremberg. |
| 1894 | Helps establish Hamburgische Electricitäts-Werke, Hamburg. |
| 1897 | Takes over Frankfurt bank J. Dreyfus & Co. including its Berlin branch, and continues to run it as branches. As of 1898 "in Hamburg" is dropped from the bank's name. |
| 1899 | Bank's first deposit branch opened in Berlin in April, centrally located in Jerusalemer Strasse leading from Hausvogteiplatz. |
| 1900 | Commerz- und Disconto-Bank starts establishing deposit branches in Hamburg, the first in St. Pauli. |
| 1904 | Frankfurt branch renamed J. Dreyfus & Co. on 1 January, and Commerz- und Disconto-Bank's limited partnership holding of 3 million marks ends as agreed in 1908. |
| 1905 | Berliner Bank taken over, to which end Commerz- und Disconto-Bank raises its capital by 35 million to 85 million marks. The former Berliner Bank premises on the corner of Behrenstrasse 46/Charlottenstrasse 47 become the bank's new headquarters. By the time of the First World War, the network of deposit branches in Berlin has risen to 44. |
| 1917-1923 | Some 40 banks taken over and a number of branches opened, including some in Bremen, Danzig, Dortmund, Essen, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne and Munich. |
| 1920 | Merger with Mitteldeutsche Privat-Bank in Magdeburg. In June, Commerz- und Disconto-Bank raises its capital by 115 million marks to 200 million; 60 million of this are used to acquire Mitteldeutsche Privat-Bank shares on a 1:1 basis. The merger increases the number of outlets by almost 100 to 284, mainly in Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. In order to underline the significance of the move, the bank changes its name to Commerz- und Privat-Bank. |
| 1923 | Commerz- und Privat-Bank acquires stakes in N.V. Hugo Kaufmann & Co.'s Bank in Amsterdam and the Rigaer Internationale Bank in Riga. |
Business Development
Further information
Contact
Commerzbank AG
- Group Communications
- Historisches Archiv
- 60261 Frankfurt/Main
- send e-mail
