Börse Berlin

Börse Berlin AG (also known as the "Berlin Stock Exchange") is a stock exchange based in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough of Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1685 through an edict of Elector Friedrich Wilhelm, it is among the oldest exchanges in the country.

History

The Berlin Stock Exchange was originally established by Elector Friedrich Wilhelm on June 29, 1685, however the first securities trading would not take place until February 25, 1739. Trading initially took place on the upper floor of the Neues Lusthaus in the Lustgarten of Central Berlin, located near the Berlin Cathedral and the Berliner Stadtschloss. This building was demolished before 1798 and replaced with a new exchange building on the same site. In 1803, the United Stock Exchange Corporation assumed operations, replaced in 1820 by a newly established consortium of Berlin Merchants known as the ''Berliner Kaufmannschaft''.

Between 1859 and 1863, architect Friedrich Hitzig constructed a new building for the exchange at Burgstraße 25–26 on the other side of the Spree River. Opening on October 1, 1863, the exchange would be informally referred to as "''Die Burgstraße''" on account to its address. Construction costs totaled approximately 700,000 Vereinsthaler. Prior to the outbreak of World War I, the Berlin Stock Exchange was considered to be among the largest exchanges of stocks, bonds and commodities in the world along with the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

However, on Thursday, July 30, trading at ''Burgstraße'' would close a day early following Russia’s general mobilization, an event that greatly increased the likelihood of a general European war. Two days later, on Saturday, August 1st, Germany would declare war on the Russian Empire and normal commercial activity would cease as the state mobilized its resources and prepared to shift towards a war economy. As a result, all trading on the exchange was halted and would not resume until on November 2, 1917, albeit under strict government controls.

In 1920, when the corporation of Berlin Merchants merged with the Berlin Chamber of Commerce, ownership of the stock exchange was transferred to the latter. In 1922, the Stock Index of the Statistical Office was calculated for the first time, based on the average price level of around 300 representative shares of the Berlin Stock Exchange. The Wirtschaftsrundfunk, an agency for business news to be broadcast on the radio, maintained an office in the exchange building.

On May 13, 1927, known "Black Friday", the Berlin index lost 31.9 percent of its value following attempts by Reichsbank President Hjalmar Schacht to impose limits on financial speculation. Black Friday began a downturn in German financial markets that would continue into the Great Depression. In 1926, 917 public companies were trading on the exchange, but by the end of 1932, only 659 remained. Although the Nazis had sought to revitalize the German economy by implementing an authoritarian command economy and rearmament, they were unable to reverse this trend and by 1943 the number of listed companies would drop to 450, less than half the amount listed eighteen years prior. That same year, economic pressures caused by the Second World War led the Reich Statistical Office (''German:'' ''Statistische Reichsamt'') to suspend all trading activity.

On May 24, 1944, the stock exchange building burned down following an air raid. The ruins of the burnt-out shell were demolished in 1957 and 1958.Götz Eckardt (ed.) And others: '' Fates of German monuments in the Second World War ''. Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin 1978, vol. 1, p. 45 For many years, remnants of the old building, such as pillars and façade pieces, were visible from behind a construction fence until new construction began in 2001.

After the Second World War

On March 11, 1952, official trading again reopened in West Berlin, with meetings held in the Lodge House on ''Emser Straße'' until the completion of a new stock exchange building. However, the catastrophic physical and human costs wrought by the war's destruction meant that the Berlin stock market's economic significance was considerably reduced compared to its former status.

An architectural design competition was announced for both the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the stock exchange. The competition was won by architects Franz Heinrich Sobotka and Gustav Müller. The inauguration of the new building on the ''Fasanenstraße'' took place on June 18, 1955.

In response to growing internationalization and market consolidation during the mid-1990s, Börse Berlin began trading a broader range of foreign stocks and bonds.

In September 2007, Börse Berlin AG acquired a majority stake in EASDAQ NV, which operates under the Equiduct brand. The launch of the Equiduct marketplace took place on March 20, 2009.

On July 21, 2009, Equiduct entered into a strategic partnership with Citadel Securities, a division of Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C. The agreement between Citadel Securities and Börse Berlin AG provided funding for Equiduct to develop its platform. Equiduct continues to be operated by Börse Berlin on the newly created market segment Berlin Second Regulated Market (B.S.R.M.).

In October 2019
Tradegate Exchange GmbH
the stock exchange operator, announced the completion of a share deal to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Berlin Börse AG, the operating company of the traditional Berlin Stock Exchange and Equiduct. In return, the Verein Berliner Börse e.V., the previous owner of the Berlin Börse AG, received a stake in the Tradegate Exchange GmbH. According to the agreement, Tradegate Exchange, Börse Berlin, and Equiduct will operate and continue to be developed jointly.

On August 1, 2020, the Exchange Council of Börse Berlin appointed Friederike von Hofe as the managing director of the exchange. Additionally, the supervisory board of the sponsoring company appointed von Hofe as a member of the executive board of Börse Berlin AG.

Until June 2022, Börse Berlin was headquartered in Ludwig-Erhard-Haus, a building designed by Nicholas Grimshaw at the Fasanenstraße 85 in the Charlottenburg district. Since June 2022, Börse Berlin has been located at Kurfürstendamm.

See also

*List of European stock exchanges
* List of major stock exchanges
*Wirtschaftswunder

References

External links

Börse Berlin
* Börse Berlin Equiduct Trading

Ludwig Erhard Haus

Knight Invests in Equiduct Systems
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borse Berlin
Financial services companies established in 1685
Economy of Berlin
Companies based in Berlin
Stock exchanges in Germany
Companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange