Hanseatic Bank

The bank was founded in 1969 as a consumer credit institution to finance goods purchased by customers of the mail order firm Otto Versand. At the time, the bank was operating under the name Hanseatic Bank Teilzahlungsfinanzierungs-GmbH & Co KG. Its initial activity consisted of providing Otto customers with consumer credits for their purchases from mail-order catalogues and managing the corresponding payment transactions.

In 1976, it was converted into a chartered universal bank. This enabled the product portfolio to be expanded to include all banking products. In addition to issuing consumer loans, savings certificates and deposits made it possible for customers to make secure investments. Later, this segment was further expanded to include transactions with funds and life insurance policies. A branch network was set up as part of the introduction of deposit-taking business. In 1976, branch offices were opened in Essen, Hanau, Hanover and Nuremberg in addition to Hamburg. In 1985, the bank was one of the first providers to introduce ATMs in Germany.

1990 - 2005

After the German reunification in 1990, the branch network was extended to the East German cities of Leipzig, Dresden, Erfurt, Schwerin and Rostock from 1991 to 1993. The factoring business with Otto and Schwab was also introduced in 1990.

The development of the real estate business started in the mid-1990s. From 1996 to 2005, the pre-financing of the state subsidy for owner-occupied homes was part of the portfolio. Since 1997, the bank offers its own product “EigentümerDarlehen”, a personal loan for home owners.

2005 - present

Until 2005, Otto Versand held 90 percent and Schwab Versand 10 percent of the shares in Hanseatic Bank. In 2005, the major French bank Société Générale acquired 75 percent of the shares; Otto Group continues to own a 25-percent stake.

In 2006, Hanseatic Bank founded its subsidiary Hanseatic Service Center GmbH (HSCE), where the employees are responsible for the lending and deposit administration and answer customers’ and partners’ questions via phone and e-mail.

In 2007, the bank developed a customer credit card for Otto and Schwab customers. One year later, the bank's own GenialCard credit card was launched, followed by the GoldCard in 2015. In the meantime, the credit card business has been further expanded with cooperation partners.

On February 10, 2019 Hanseatic Bank celebrated its 50th anniversary.