WestLB AG (derived from ''Westdeutsche
Landesbank
In German-speaking jurisdictions, ''Landesbank'' (plural ), , generally refers to a bank operating within a territorial subdivision () that has autonomy but not full sovereignty. It is occasionally translated as "provincial bank".
Austria-Hungar ...
'', i.e. "Western German state Bank") was a European commercial bank based in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
which was mainly owned by the German state of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
. Landesbanks are a group of partly or wholly state owned banks unique to Germany. They are regionally organised and their business is predominantly wholesale banking. As of 30 June 2012, WestLB was downsized and Portigon Financial Services AG became the legal successor of WestLB.
History
The bank was incorporated on January 1, 1969. Total assets of the group were €288.1 bn as of December 31, 2008 (€292.1bn as of September 30, 2006) with operations spread over eleven countries in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, six countries in
The Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
, six countries in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, including significant investment banking operations in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.
![Düsseldorf-Friedrichstadt WestLB](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/D%C3%BCsseldorf-Friedrichstadt_WestLB.JPG)
WestLB was also the central institution for savings banks in North Rhine Westphalia. On August 30, 2002, WestLB was transformed into an
Aktiengesellschaft
(; abbreviated AG, ) is a German word for a corporation limited by Share (finance), share ownership (i.e. one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland (wh ...
(
joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...
) and on July 19, 2005, institutional liability and guarantor liability were abolished, allowing the company to concentrate on commercial operations.
The public finance tasks of economic and structural development were transferred to the NRW.BANK which now operates as the Landesbank of North Rhine Westphalia. In February 2008, as the global credit crisis evolved, WestLB was allocated a 5bn Euros guarantee by North Rhine Westphalia and a group of local banks. The bank was reported to have suffered from exposure to investments in structured credits.
In November 2008, the board of WestLB announced that it intended to obtain state loan guarantees and look at raising additional capital from the government of Germany specially set up bailout fund. There are also any ideas to merge the WestLB with other state owned banks or to rearrange segments of the WestLB in the German system of state owned banks.
In November 2009, 85 billion in problem assets were transferred from WestLB to a winding up agency called Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA), colloquially also called '
bad bank
A bad bank is a corporate structure which isolates illiquid and high risk assets (typically non-performing loans) held by a bank or a financial organisation, or perhaps a group of banks or financial organisations. A bank may accumulate a large por ...
'.
As per 30 June 2012, the brand WestLB was given up and the remaining company continued to operate under the name of Portigon Financial Services AG. Besides, EAA and another organisation under the roof of Hessian and Thuringian Landesbank
Helaba
Helaba, short for Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, is a commercial bank with core regions in Hesse and Thuringia, Germany offering financial services to companies, banks, institutional investors and the public sector, both within Germany and interna ...
are dealing with the aftermath of the quasi bankruptcy and carrying on with core functions of the former WestLB.
Stockholders
Stockholders on May 10, 2009
* 30.862%
NRW.BANK (also partly owned by North Rhine-Westphalia)
* 25.032%
Sparkassen- und Giroverband Rheinland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
* 25.032% Sparkassen- und Giroverband Westfalen-Lippe
* 17.766% North Rhine-Westphalia
TWG suspicions
In January 2001 after West LB had notified banking investigators about very large sums moving between offshore vehicles and
Trans World Group TransWorld Group was an association of commodities traders controlling stakes in most of Russia's aluminum smelters. It was established by David and Simon Reuben.
By 1996 TransWorld was the world's third-largest aluminum producer, behind Alcoa and ...
accounts at West LB, Düsseldorf prosecutors uncovered DM15 billion ($7 billion) had passed through West LB,
Commerzbank
Commerzbank AG () is a major German bank operating as a universal bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. In the 2019 financial year, the bank was the second largest in Germany by the total value of its balance sheet. Founded in 1870 in Hambur ...
,
Dresdner Bank
Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009.
History
19th century
The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novemb ...
, and
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Westlb
Landesbanks
Companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Companies based in Düsseldorf
1969 establishments in West Germany
Banks established in 1969