Steiermärkische Sparkasse
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The Steiermärkische Bank und Sparkassen (Steiermärkische Sparkasse for short) is an Austrian
sparkassen A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks ha ...
or savings bank based in
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
. It is a
universal bank A universal bank is a type of bank which participates in many kinds of banking activities and is both a commercial bank and an investment bank as well as providing other financial services such as insurance. These are also called full-service ...
with services for private clients, small and medium-sized enterprises,
private banking Private banking is a general description for banking, investment and other financial services provided by banks and financial institutions primarily serving high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) – those with very high income or substantial asset ...
clients, large companies, institutional clients and the public sector. It is the largest retail bank in Styria. The expanded home market includes
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
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,
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and
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
. Steiermärkische Sparkasse is the largest regional ''Sparkasse'' in Austria and an important part of the Austrian ''Sparkassen Gruppe'', which consists of 46 ''Sparkassen'' with ''Erste Group Bank'' and ''Erste Bank Österreich'' as leading institutions. It is also a member of the ''Sparkassen Haftungsverbund''.


History

Steiermärkische Sparkasse was founded in 1825 as ''Vereinssparkasse'' (''Steyermärkische Spar-Casse'') and is thus the oldest financial institution in
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
. Business operations began on 15 May 1825 at the first business premises at Landhaus, Schmiedgasse No. 9. The actual founder of the Steiermärkische Sparkasse was the Emperor's personal representative and Governor in Styria:
Franz von Hartig Franz von Hartig (1789 – 1865) was an Austrian statesman. Biography He held a number of important government posts until the appearance of his book ''Genesis der Revolution in Oesterreich'' (“Origins of the Revolution in Austria,” 3rd edit ...
. Since 1823 he had been the Imperial and Royal Count of Styria, Governor of Styria and thus head of the Imperial and Royal Styrian ''Gubernium'', the country's highest political authority. In addition to his political responsibilities, he also was in a role inspired him to found a ''Sparkasse'' in
Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
. Since 1823 he had been a member of the Association of the First Austrian ''Spar-Casse'' with direct insight into the beginnings of the ''Sparkassen'' system in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. As early as 1824 he had decided to found an institute of this kind in Styria as well.


Timeline

* On 12 February 1825 the subscribers decided to establish a "Steyermärkische Spar-Casse zu Gratz" and its statute and elected its first organs. * On 2 March 1825 the statutes were approved by the ''Gubernium'' for Styria (Zl. 4840) and the members of the permanent committee were elected. * On 5 May 1825, by decree of the United Court Chancellery in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, permission was granted to operate this first financial institution in Graz. * On 15 May 1825 at 10 o'clock in the morning the opening took place in the rooms of the business premises at the Landhaus. * The first client was the protector of the ''Sparkasse'', Count von Hartig, who paid an amount of 100 fl. C.M. with a dedication. * The first employees of the ''Sparkasse'' were Peter Lingl (cashier) and Ignaz Dissauer (accountant). However, their previous employer Carl Freiherr von Mandell continued to pay their salary. * On 24 March 1838
Archduke John of Austria Archduke John of Austria (, ; (or simply ''Nadvojvoda Janez''); 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, was an Austrian field marshal and imperial regent (''Reichsverweser'') of the short-lived German Emp ...
visited the ''Sparkasse'' accompanied by the Minister of State Count von Kolowrat. * On 1 April 1885 the Steiermärkische Sparkasse moved into their new premises, built according to plans by Matthias Seidl, in which the (older) ''Stephaniensaal'' was also built and made available to the public. * The Steiermärkische Sparkasse in Graz emerged from "the transfer of the ''Sparkasse des Bezirks Umgebung Graz'' and the ''Gemeinde-Sparkasse in Graz'' to the old Steiermärkische Sparkasse by universal succession in 1939". * From 1965 expansion in Styria -– acquisition of 20 ''Sparkasse'' * In 1991 it was incorporated into a
Joint-stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) 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). Shareho ...
. * 1992 Merger of Steiermärkische Sparkasse and ''Steiermärkische Bank'' * From 1997 Expansion in the Western
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
* 2000 Takeover of ''Erste Bank'' branches in Styria


Structure

Steiermärkische Bank und Sparkassen AG has its headquarters at Am Sparkassenplatz in Graz. 73.5% of the shares in the company are held by "Steiermärkische Verwaltungssparkasse", 25% by "Erste Bank" and 1.5% by the employees. Steiermärkische Sparkasse had a balance sheet total of EUR 15.7 billion, the Steiermärkische Sparkasse Group is the largest ''Sparkasse'' in southern Austria. The ''Sparkasse'' employs 2,785 staff and operates 233 locations. (as of 2018)


Debanking

* In 2017, the Steiermärkische Sparkasse terminated the bank account of the
Identitarian Movement The Identitarian movement or Identitarianism is a Pan-European nationalism, pan-European nationalist, Ethnic nationalism, ethno-nationalist, Far-right politics, far-right ideological movement centred on the preservation of White people, white ...
in Austria due to the groups’ campaign against refugees crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe. * In December 2024, the Austrian public broadcasting company
ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the g ...
reported that the Steiermärkische Sparkasse had terminated the bank account of the right-wing Freilich Magazin. The Freilich Magazin described the termination of their bank account as an "attack on journalism and on freedom of speech".


Literature

* Wilhelm Kaiserfeld and Heinrich Poschacher, Die Steiermärkische Sparkasse 1825–1925. Eine Denkschrift anlässlich ihres hundertjährigen Bestandes, Graz 1925 * Werner Rauchenwald: Banken in Graz; Leykam-BranchenverlagsgmbH (Hrsg.) 2007


References


External links


Official Website
{{Authority control Banks of Austria Corporate finance Companies based in Graz 1991 establishments in Austria