Wiener Stadtbank

[2]: 248 The Wiener Stadtbank started operations in 1706 on the basis of an Imperial patent letter of 24 December 1705, which pledged that it would be run "without any intervention from the Hofkammer [de]" or Habsburg finance ministry.

[2]: 249  Whereas its main role from the start was to help finance the Habsburg state by increasing the liquidity of its debt, its control by the Viennese municipality allowed for a degree of day-to-day autonomy that acted as a disciplining device.

In 1797, the convertibility of the bank's liabilities, which had been preserved until then despite precarious balance sheet strength, was eventually suspended and the Wiener Stadtbank's notes were given legal tender status.

[2]: 249-250 The depreciation of the bank's notes eventually led to its closure in 1811, enacted with the bankruptcy declaration (German: Bankrottpatent) issued by Emperor Francis I on 20 February 1811.

The banknotes formerly issued by the Wiener Stadtbank were exchanged against "redemption notes" at a rate of five to one, equivalent to a haircut of 80 percent, in effect a sovereign default that ruined many savers.