Darmstädter Bank

[2] The Bank für Handel und Industrie was founded by Cologne bankers Wilhelm Ludwig Deichmann, Gustav Mevissen, Abraham Oppenheim and Victor Wendelstadt.

[3]: 6  It was established with a capital of 25 million guilders and modelled after the French bank Crédit Mobilier, in whose creation in 1852 Oppenheim had been involved and from which it secured backing for the new venture.

The choice of Darmstadt was motivated by regulatory arbitrage, since no concession for a joint-stock bank could be obtained in either the Free City of Frankfurt or the Kingdom of Prussia, while the Grand Duchy of Hesse allowed for easier arrangements.

[5]: 46  Despite the inspiration from Crédit Mobilier, the model for the new bank's statutory documents was the A. Schaaffhausen'scher Bankverein, restructured five years earlier with the critical involvement of Deichmann, Mevissen and Wendelstadt.

Between 1918 and 1921, it opened many more branches across Germany,[citation needed] and acquired majority ownership of Vienna-based Mercurbank,[11] before merging with the Nationalbank für Deutschland in 1922.

Former main building of the Darmstädter Bank in Darmstadt , erected 1873–1875 on a design by architect Philipp Johann Berdellé [ de ] , [ 1 ] used by the bank until 1932
Abraham Oppenheim (1804-1878) was instrumental in the creation of the Darmstädter Bank