Английская Википедия:Hungarian General Credit Bank
The Hungarian General Credit Bank (Шаблон:Lang-hu, MÁH, Шаблон:Lang-de, also known as CreditbankШаблон:R) was a major bank in Hungary, from its establishment in 1867 by the Rothschild family until its nationalization in 1948.
History
Background
The Rothschild family was involved early on in financing operations in Hungary, including by providing a sixth of the equity capital for the construction of the iconic Széchenyi Chain Bridge and refinancing its cost overruns in the 1840s.[2]Шаблон:Rp In 1857, the Rothschild-sponsored Creditanstalt bank opened a branch in Pest.Шаблон:R
Austro-Hungarian era
The Hungarian General Credit Bank had its shares first traded on the Vienna Stock Exchange on Шаблон:Date, ahead of its formal registration by the Hungarian Commercial and Exchange Court of Pest on Шаблон:Date.[3]Шаблон:Rp In 1871, it took over the local branch of Creditanstalt.Шаблон:R In 1873, it received a mandate from the recently created finance ministry for a range of transactions, which made it effectively the main banker of the Hungarian government;Шаблон:R that role was reinforced and extend by successive acts in 1886, 1901, and 1915.Шаблон:R In the 1890s, under Zsigmond Kornfeld's leadership, the Creditbank became increasingly autonomous from the Austrian Creditanstalt.Шаблон:R
By the early 20th century, the Creditbank had acquired a dominant position on the Hungarian banking market.Шаблон:R It acquired the First Hungarian Industrial Bank (Шаблон:Lang-hu), which had been established in 1864.[4]Шаблон:Rp In 1912 during the Balkan Wars, it created an affiliate in Zagreb, the Croatian General Credit Bank (Шаблон:Lang-hr),[5]Шаблон:Rp of which it retained overwhelming majority control until 1945.Шаблон:R By 1913, it ranked fourth among Hungary's commercial banks by total assets, behind the Hungarian Commercial Bank of Pest, the First National Savings Bank of Pest, and the Hungarian Mortgage Credit Bank, but second by profits behind the Hungarian Commercial Bank of Pest.[6]Шаблон:Rp
Interwar period
Following the turmoil of World War I, the Creditbank was able to retain its leading role within the national banking sector. Its links with the Creditanstalt were loosened,Шаблон:R and in the early 1920s a 18-percent equity stake was acquired by Шаблон:Lang, an affiliate of the French Schneider-Creusot group in partnership with the Banque de l'Union Parisienne and Belgium's Empain group.Шаблон:R
By 1924 its Croatian affiliate, the Croatian General Credit Bank, had branches in Čakovec, Karlovac, and Varaždin.[5]
The bank was severely affected by the European banking crisis of 1931, when it narrowly avoided bankruptcy thanks to swift government intervention. It returned to profitability in 1936–1937.Шаблон:R In 1938, it absorbed the Hungarian General Savings Bank (Шаблон:Lang-hu).[7] It remained among the country's leading banks throughout the interwar period.[8]Шаблон:Rp
World War II and aftermath
In September 1941, Dresdner Bank appropriated the Schneider-owned block of shares, which from 1945 fell into the Soviet occupation zone of Germany and were thus claimed by the Soviet authorities under the terms of the Potsdam Conference.[9]Шаблон:Rp In 1946, the General Credit Bank merged with the Hungarian National Central Savings Bank (Шаблон:Lang-hu, MOKT).Шаблон:R The new group did not survive for long, however; it came under direct management by the State Banks' Executive Committee in January 1948, and disappeared by the mid-1950s.Шаблон:R
Leadership
- Antal Frank, Director 1867-1876?Шаблон:R
- Vince Weininger, Managing Director 1876-1879Шаблон:R
- Шаблон:Ill, Managing Director 1880-1900Шаблон:R
- Zsigmond Kornfeld, member of the board of directors from 1878, Managing Director 1900-1909Шаблон:R
- Шаблон:Ill, member of the board of directors from 1885, Chairman 1895–1900, Managing Director 1909-1923Шаблон:R
- Tibor Scitovszky, Managing Director 1923-1924 and 1925–1939, Chairman 1944-1947Шаблон:R
- Tihamér Fabinyi, Managing Director 1939-1944Шаблон:R
- György Ullmann, Managing Director 1944-1947Шаблон:R
- Шаблон:Ill, temporary manager 1947-1948Шаблон:R
See also
Notes
