S. Bleichröder was a German family-controlled bank based in Berlin, founded in 1803 by

Samuel Bleichröder Samuel Bleichröder (15 July 1779, Wriezen – 30 December 1855) was a German Jewish banker and financier. Located in Berlin, Bleichröder dealt with the Prussian court. He was also involved with the Rothschilds of Frankfurt. In 1803, he establis ...

. As an agent of the German Rothschild Bank. It was developed by Samuel's son Gerson von Bleichröder, who became known as " Bismarck's banker". The firm declined in importance in the early 20th century and was eventually acquired in 1931 by Dresden-based Arnhold Brothers to form Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder.

History

Samuel Bleichröder (1779–1855), who came from a Jewish family originally based in Bleicherode, founded an exchange business on Rosenthaler Strasse in the center of Berlin. The firm rose to significance in 1828, when it became the Berlin agent of Frankfurt-based M. A. Rothschild & Söhne. Bleichröder subsequently became a significant financier to the Kingdom of Prussia, and in 1845 was also involved in financing the

Cologne-Minden Railway Company The Cologne-Minden Railway Company (German, old spelling: ''Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''CME'') was along with the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company and the Rhenish Railway Company one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th ...

. From 1855 onwards, Samuel's son Gerson Bleichröder (1822-1893) continued the business, while his brother left around 1860 and founded his own banking firm. Gerson Bleichröder made S. Bleichröder prominent in the transfer of credits and/or placing of loans on behalf of the Prussian state and, from 1871 on, of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. He also managed the private banking transactions of

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

. Together with other banks, including Mendelssohn & Co., Bleichröder managed the processing of French reparation payments following the Franco-Prussian War and financed the build-up of the government-owned Prussian state railways. Until the 1880s, the bank was also, alongside Maurice de Hirsch, the most important German investor in the Ottoman Empire. In 1889, it was among the three largest investors in the foundation of the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank in Shanghai, together with Disconto-Gesellschaft and Deutsche Bank. After Gerson's death in 1893, his brother-in-law Julius Leopold Schwabach (1831-1898), a partner since 1870, became the bank's senior partner. Gerson's three sons had also become partners, namely Hans von Bleichröder (since around 1881), (since around 1887) and (since 1893). In 1896, Julius Leopold Schwabach's son Paul joined the bank. After the First World War, the importance of the Bleichröder Bank declined significantly. In 1918-1921, Bleichröder established cross-shareholdings with the Aufhäuser Bank in Munich. It incurred losses in the

European banking crisis of 1931 The European banking crisis of 1931 was a major episode of financial instability that peaked with the collapse of several major banks in Austria and Germany, including Creditanstalt on , Landesbank der Rheinprovinz on , and Danat-Bank on . It tri ...

, precipitating the merger with Arnhold Brothers that same year.

References

{{Reflist Defunct banks of Germany Banks established in 1803 1803 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire

History

See also

References