Aktia Bank

Helsinki City Savings Bank (1825-1891)

As successor of the Helsinki Savings Bank, Aktia is the oldest deposit bank currently operating in Finland. Helsingfors Stads Sparbanks Inrättning was established in 1825, the second savings bank in Finland following that founded in Turku in 1822. Social reasons prompted its creation: unemployment, poverty, and beggary had escalated in Helsinki, and poverty relief had been found to make the poor passive. The bank's purpose was to provide safe deposits and interest on money in such a way that saving would encourage “diligence, care, and industriousness” rather than “laziness, forgetfulness, and self-inflicted misery.” The savings bank was to be run without self-interest. The bank opened its doors on 8 April 1826. The first customer was fisherman's daughter Sophia Albertina Schelin, who deposited sixteen shillings in savings account number 1. At first, the bank was only open on Saturday evenings. During the 19th century, the bank expanded its operations. In 1870 it was feared that the public’s increased thriftiness could bring the bank to ruin. The bank could not guarantee that interest would be obtained on the funds deposited, leading to a termination of interest payment if the deposit exceeded a certain amount. By 1875, the bank had 16,745 deposit customers.

Helsinki Savings Bank (1891-1991)

In 1891, the name of the savings bank was shortened to Helsinki Savings Bank.

In 1930, the bank inaugurated a new head office building in the central Kluuvi neighborhood of Helsinki, designed by architect Pauli E. Blomstedt. The building included a hotel facility from the start, branded Helsinki Hotel and later taken over by Sokos Hotels.

The Helsinki Savings Bank absorbed several other savings banks including Kirkkonummen Säästöpankki in 1956, Säästöpankki Torkkeli in 1979, and Espoon Säästöpankki in 1980. IT was introduced in 1966, first as a service from Sweden. The bank acquired its first computer, a UNIVAC 9200, in 1968.