Deutsche Bank

the largest banking concern in the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Deutsche Bank was founded in Berlin in 1870 with a capital stock of 15 million marks. The bank absorbed dozens of other banks; among these was the Disconto-Gesellschaft, a major bank taken over in 1929. The Deutsche Bank played a significant role in the development of German imperialism and in the financing of fascist aggression. Together with the Dresdener Bank, the Deutsche Bank participated actively in the plunder of countries occupied by the fascists.

With the help of the Western powers, ten regional successor banks were established in 1947 based on existing branches of the Deutsche Bank in West Germany. The new banks were permitted to operate only within the boundaries of their respective states. In 1952 the entire territory of the Federal Republic of Germany was divided into three banking regions—north, west, and south—and in place of the previous ten successor banks to the Deutsche Bank, three banks were formed accordingly: the Northern Deutsche Bank, the Western Deutsche Bank, and the Southern Deutsche Bank. In 1957 these were merged into a single bank.

The Deutsche Bank is the nucleus of the financial group that includes the following concerns: Siemens, Mannesmann, Klöckner, Haniel, Hoeschst, Henkel, Reemtsma, Horten, DEMAG, BASF, Bayer, Allianz, and Glanzstoff. This group includes the leading electrical engineering, metallurgical, machine-building, chemical, and mining concerns, as well as the largest trading and insurance monopolies. The enterprises owned by concerns belonging to the financial group headed by the Deutsche Bank employ more than 1 million production and service workers, with total annual sales in excess of 100 billion marks (as of late 1971). The group controls about one-third of all the country’s outstanding capital shares.

The Deutsche Bank is closely tied to the Morgan, Rockefeller, Warburg, and Kuhn and Loeb banking groups in the United States and to the Rothschild group in a number of Western European countries. The Deutsche Bank has long-standing ties with the largest financial group in France, which is headed by the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas, as well as with Dutch and Belgian monopoly capital. In 1970 the bank participated in 24 credit institutions within the country and 21 abroad. The main office of the Deutsche Bank is located in Frankfurt am Main.

By the end of 1972, total capital of the Deutsche Bank had reached 640 million marks, compared with 200 million marks in 1957. During these years, the bank’s total balance increased from 8.4 billion marks to 40.2 billion, deposits rose from 7.1 billion marks to 37.1 billion, and discounted bills and loans rose from 6.3 billion to 31.9 billion marks.