Private company

Herstatt Bank

Herstatt Bank (Bankhaus I.D. Herstatt K.G.a.A.) was a privately owned bank in the German city of Cologne.1

Last updated Oct 18, 2026.

Overview

Dec 10, 1955Founded1
  • Industrybank1
  • HeadquartersCologne1
  • Legal formKommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Herstatt Bank (Bankhaus I.D. Herstatt K.G.a.A.) was a privately owned bank in the German city of Cologne. It went bankrupt on 26 June 1974, an event widely referred to as the Herstatt crisis. Herstatt's failure specifically highlighted the importance of settlement risk in foreign-exchange markets, which became correspondingly known as Herstatt risk.2

The story

Founded by Emil Georg Bührle, Hans Gerling and Iwan-David Herstatt on Dec 10, 1955.1

Herstatt Bank was founded in 1955 by Ivan David Herstatt, with financial assistance from Herbert Quandt, Emil Bührle and Hans Gerling, the head of an insurance company who took a majority share. By 1974 the bank had assets of over DM2 billion, making it the 35th largest bank in Germany. Herstatt Bank became a significant participant in the foreign exchange markets. During 1973 and 1974, the U.S. dollar experienced significant volatility. The bank made wrong bets on the direction of the dollar, and by June 1974 had accumulated DM470 million in losses, compared with capital of only DM44 million.

From Wikipedia’s article on Herstatt Bank, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Leadership

Who has led Herstatt Bank, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Products and brands

  • retail banking

Listed on Wikidata.1

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Dec 1974Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. Dec 10, 1955Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3