Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe

History

The Ersparungsclasse der Allgemeinen Versorgungsanstalt, established in Hamburg in 1778, is widely viewed as the first modern savings bank. Other accounts emphasize the significance of the savings bank of Göttingen, founded in 1801, which was the first established with a municipal guarantor whereas earlier foundations had been initiated by merchants, clerics or academics (Hamburg later created its own municipal savings banks in 1827). In 1838, the Kingdom of Prussia adopted the first savings banks legislation (Sparkassenreglement), which unified the legal status of the 234 savings banks then existing under its jurisdiction and put them under the regime of the respective local governments; it served as a model for other German polities.

Between 1850 and 1903, the idea of the municipal savings banks spread further, and the number of savings banks in Germany increased from 630 to 2834. In 1913, of the 1765 Sparkassen that operated in Prussia alone, about 90 percent belonged to either a city or a county (German: Kreis), while the remaining 10 percent were either private or belonged to an association. Throughout the 19th century, the services that Sparkassen could provide had been strictly restricted, but these restrictions were loosened as joint-stock banks, starting with Deutsche Bank, started competing for the collection of retail savings. In 1909, new legislation allowed the Sparkassen to offer checking and related payment accounts. This change fostered the creation of regional public entities that cleared payments between different Sparkassen, known as Girozentralen. The first Girozentrale was established in 1909 in Saxony, soon followed by those for Bavaria (1914), the Rhineland (1914), Thuringia (1915), Silesia (1916), and from 1916, the national Deutscher Zentral-Giroverband which in 1918 became the Deutsche Girozentrale (DGZ).

Also during World War I, the Imperial German government leveraged the network of Sparkassen to place war bonds, marking the beginning of their activity in the securities space. In 1921, further legislative changes enabled them to underwrite and sell securities more broadly, thus allowing them to act practically as universal banks. The Sparkassen, however, were severely impacted by hyperinflation: their deposit base shrunk from nearly 32 billion marks in late 1918 (up from 19 billion in 1913) to a mere 608 million Reichsmarks at end-1924.

In 1934, all savings banks were designated as credit institutions under new banking legislation following the crisis of 1931. The savings banks group, designated from 1935 as Wirtschaftsgruppe Sparkassen, again participated in war financing before and during World War II. The savings banks in East Germany were nationalized and separated from the rest of the network in 1945, but reintegrated into it after German reunification in 1990.

Foundations

As of end-2020, the Savings banks network maintained a total of 769 foundations in Germany, with total capital of €2.72 billion. At the national level, the German Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation (German: Deutsche Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation e.V.) in Bonn, also known as Deutsche Sparkassenstiftung, centralizes actions in favor of international development.

The S-shaped logo of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe is one of Germany's most recognizable brand images. It was introduced in 1938 and given its present form, with the trademark red color, in 1972 by designer Otl Aicher. Erste Bank in Austria also uses said logo under license since the 1950s.