Hauck & Aufhäuser

Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers AG
Company typeCorporation
IndustryCredit Institution
Founded1753 (Platz & Gebhard)
1 January 1796 (current namesake)[1]
HeadquartersFrankfurt, Germany
Number of employees
722[2]
ParentFosun International
Websitewww.hauck-aufhaeuser.com

Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers AG is a private bank based in Frankfurt am Main. Hauck & Aufhäuser also maintains offices in Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne, London, Luxembourg, Nanjing (China) and Shanghai (China)[3] and focuses on the advisory and asset management of private and corporate clients as well as institutional investors and on cooperation with independent asset managers.[4] The bank was created in 1998 from the merger of Georg Hauck & Sohn Bankiers in Frankfurt am Main and Bankhaus H. Aufhäuser in Munich.[5] Since 2016 it has been part of the Chinese conglomerate Fosun.[6] In March 2020 Hauck & Aufhäuser announced its intention to buy Bankhaus Lampe KG from the Oetker Group. The purchase is subject to approval by the competition authorities.[7][8]

History

Banking house Georg Hauck & Sohn

Development since the foundation in 1796

On January 1, 1796 Friedrich Michael Hauck (1769–1839) became a new partner in the existing business Platz & Gebhard in Frankfurt am Main, in operation since 1753. Gebhard & Hauck, as the business was now called, ran the bill of exchange, commissions and freight forwarding business. Gebhard & Hauck operated banking transactions, like many trading houses of that time, at least in the beginning probably only incidentally. It is known that as early as 1800 Gebhard & Hauck granted the Upper Rhenish Circle a loan of 100,000 guilders at an interest rate of 4.5 percent.[9] Friedrich Michael Hauck was a member of the Permanent Citizens' Representative from 1815 to 1825 and from 1817 to 1819 a member of the Legislative Body of the Free City of Frankfurt. From 1821 to 1829 he was Senior Manager of the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce. During this time, he earned honors for his services to the Frankfurt Commercial policy, for example, for the establishment of the Central German Trade Association in 1828.[10]

In 1839 Georg Heinrich (1812–1884) and Ferdinand Hauck (1813–1888) took over Gebhard & Hauck after the death of their father Friedrich Michael (whose partner Peter Gebhard had already died in 1814), but went separate ways in 1861. The Hauck brothers founded the banks Georg Hauck & Sohn and Ferdinand Hauck. The latter bank was quite successful for a while, but was liquidated in 1926 and transferred to Georg Hauck & Sohn.[11] The Bank Georg Hauck & Sohn participated in the establishment and development of numerous companies in the Rhine-Main area, including the Frankfurter Bank in 1854 and the Metallgesellschaft.[10]

In 1888, under the direction of Otto Hauck (* 10. April 1863 Frankfurt am Main, † 25. November 1934 Frankfurt am Main), the house, together with the Bankhaus J. J. Weiller Söhne, marketed the Farbwerke Hoechst at the stock market. A few years later, the bank house Hauck participated as a limited partner in Brown, Boveri & Cie.[11]

The bank Georg Hauck & Sohn even survived difficult periods such as the German War in 1866, the German-French War of 1870-71, the founding crash in 1873, the November Revolution and the period of hyperinflation after the First World War as well as the Great Depression of the late twenties and early thirties almost unscathed.

National Socialism – Reprisals

On March 31, 1933 Otto Hauck resigned as a long-standing president of the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together with the entire Bureau. In connection with the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses of 1 April 1933, he had been attacked as a "half-Jew" because his mother Anna Hauck born Reiss (1839-1925) came from the long-established Jewish families Reiss and Flersheim. After Otto Hauck's death in 1934, his son Alexander Hauck (1893–1946) took over the management of the bank. According to the Nuremberg Laws, he was considered a "Jewish mixed race of the second degree", which led to a restriction of his civil rights. To secure the future of the bank, in 1938, the banking house Hauck acquired the majority of the 1804 founded banking business J. Ph. Keßler. Its previous owner Adolf Melber (1894–1972) joined the banking house Hauck as a managing director in 1939,[10] and now represented the bank to the outside.

War and reconstruction, last Hauck retires

After the complete destruction of the bank's building in the Neue Mainzer Straße 30 in the air raids on Frankfurt am Main in March 1944, it was rebuilt after the war. In 1946 August Oswalt, Anne Marie Hauck and Michael Hauck became personally liable partners. In 1950, Georg Hauck & Sohn was transformed into a Kommanditgesellschaft (limited partnership), 1980 a Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (limited partnership on shares).[11] At the end of 1993, Michael Hauck (born 1927), the last member of the family, left the bank after 47 years as personally liable partner. Michael Hauck is now honorary chairman of the bank Hauck & Aufhäuser, and members of the family continue to belong to the circle of shareholders of the bank.

Banking house H. Aufhäuser

Founding 1870

By Heinrich Aufhäuser (1842–1917) and Samuel Scharlach, the bank Aufhäuser & Scharlach was founded on 14 May 1870 in Munich. Already in the first years from 1870 to 1876, the balance sheet of the new bank increased fivefold. After Heinrich Aufhäuser had paid out his former partner Scharlach by 1892, the Institute was renamed Bankhaus H. Aufhäuser in 1894. The bank quickly gained a good reputation and soon counted et al. Duke Luitpold in Bavaria and the family of Thomas Mann as well as Neuberger and Alfred Einstein to its customers. At the turn of the century, the bank, which initially specialized in securities brokerage, became a high-volume bank. For the first time in 1913 H. Aufhäuser's balance sheet totaled over 10 million gold marks.[11]

S. Bleichröder limited partner and successful 1920s

One of the most renowned German private banks since the Empire and the former house bank of the former Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the Berlin bank Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, became limited partner of the Bankhaus H. Aufhäuser in 1918 – also a hallmark of the concentration process at the banks since the turn of the century. The official name was now: H. Aufhäuser Kommandite von S. Bleichröder in Berlin.[11] In 1921, Martin Aufhäuser's participation in S. Bleichröder resulted in a cross-shareholding between the two Jewish banks. At the same time, Ernst Kritzler, a shareholder of S. Bleichröder since 1917, joined the Bankhaus H. Aufhäuser. The 1920s were very successful years for H. Aufhäuser. Martin Aufhäuser (1875–1944) also sat on the board of the 1924 newly founded Golddiskontbank (Gold Discounter Bank), which was founded after the hyperinflation as a subsidiary of the Reichsbank in order to provide German foreign trade with convertible means of payment.

Aryanization

The successful years were interrupted by the "seizure of power" of the Nazis. Since the Aufhäusers belonged to the Jewish faith, the bank was subjected to massive reprisals and it lost a large part of its customers - by coercive measures (Jew boycott etc.), emigration or deportation.[11]

The Bankhaus H. Aufhäuser was "forcefully Aryanized " as a result of the so-called Pogrom Night in early November and, in December 1938, Friedrich Wilhelm Seiler took over the bank. H. Aufhäuser was thus one of the last private banks and one of the most important ones that was aryanized in this way. The bank changed its name to Seiler & Co. and the Jewish employees had to be dismissed. However, it must be noted that Martin Aufhäuser had led the first negotiations with Frederick Seiler in the summer of 1938 more or less voluntarily; Seiler was the one to whom the Aufhäusers wanted to hand over their bank. Only after the Kristallnacht (Pogrom Night) did the National Socialist authorities intervene massively in the negotiations and determine the path of aryanization. From the end of 1938 onwards, the business was mainly run by the Aufhäuser's close associate, Josef Bayer (1897–1965), who had been married to a Jewish woman since the 1920s, but could not be dismissed by the National Socialist authorities because of his knowledge of the bank. The Bankhaus Aufhäuser/Seiler succeeded in generating profits by 1944 without becoming involved in arms deals or the like. Josef Bayer, as well as the, since 1939, personally liable shareholder Otto Schniewind, who was temporarily scheduled to serve as minister of finance or economy in the planned government of Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, were taken to the concentration camp or rather taken into custody as a result of the assassination attempt of 20 July plot, but survived the Nazi era.[11]

Reconstruction, Aufhäusers retire permanently

The brothers Martin and Siegfried Aufhäuser (1877–1949, since 1921 partner in the bank and British citizen) had to leave Germany destitute and humiliated and emigrated to London and via the Netherlands to the United States. In 1954, the Münchner Institut was renamed Bankhaus H. Aufhäuser again, and the descendants of the Aufhäusers were, already in 1953 retroactively to 1948, offered a 40-percent stake in the limited partnership. In 1955, however, due to the events during the Nazi era, the family Aufhäuser sold its shares completely and has since ceased to be involved in the bank; however personal relationships continue to exist.

1998–2022: Hauck & Aufhäuser

As of January 1, 1998, the Frankfurter Bankhaus Georg Hauck & Sohn and the Munich Banking Institute H. Aufhäuser zu Hauck & Aufhäuser KGaA.[1] The partner circle of the bank consists of the speaker Michael Bentlage as well as Stephan Rupprecht and Wolfgang Strobel. Hauck & Aufhäuser sees itself as a traditional and modern private bank.[1][12]

Until August 2016, Hauck & Aufhäuser was one of the few private bank houses that was run independently by personally liable partners and independent of the group. Besides the descendants of the founding family, the shareholders included Hans Langmann, former CEO of Merck Group, Frank Asbeck, CEO of SolarWorld AG as well as the family Findel-Mast, which owns Mast-Jägermeister SE.[13]

On July 8, 2015, it was announced that Hauck & Aufhäuser is in sales talks with the Chinese investment group Fosun International.[14][15][16] According to media reports the offer of Fosun amounted to €210 million.[17] In August 2016, after more than a year of auditing, the takeover was confirmed by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Banking and Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).[18] For the first time, a German bank went to a majority shareholder from China.[19] The management of Hauck & Aufhäuser remained unchanged as of January 2017.[20]

In December 2016, the private bank announced that it would take over Sal. Oppenheim's fund platform business in Luxembourg and, as a result, the two resident companies Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Luxemburg S.A. and Oppenheim Asset Management Services S.à r.l..[21][22] Hauck & Aufhäuser has been in the digital asset management business with Zeedin since 2018.[23][24][25]

2022–present: Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe

In May 2024, ABN Amro agreed to buy Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe (HAL) for 672 million euros ($730 million) from Fosun International.[26] Some of HAL's units such as those that provide alternative investment fund management or fund administration services were not part of the acquisition.[27]

Operating subsidiaries and ownership

  • Hauck & Aufhäuser Fund Services S.A., Luxembourg[28]
  • Hauck & Aufhäuser Alternative Investment Services S.A., Luxembourg[28]
  • Hauck & Aufhäuser Fund Platforms S.A., Luxembourg[28]
  • Hauck & Aufhäuser Pension Trust GmbH, Frankfurt am Main[28]
  • H&A Global Investment Management GmbH, Frankfurt am Main (Minority holding)[28]
  • FidesKapital Gesellschaft für Kapitalbeteiligungen mbH, Munich[28]
  • Hauck Investment Management (Nanjing) Co., Ltd., Nanjing (China)[28]
  • Hauck Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Shanghai (China)[28]

The list represents an excerpt. The complete list can be found in the current annual report.[28]

Literature

  • Moser, Eva; Winkler, Richard (1995). Wegmarken: 125 Jahre Bankhaus H. Aufhäuser. Munich: R. Oldenbourg.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Geschichte". Hauck & Aufhäuser. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  2. ^ "annual report" (PDF). Hauck & Aufhäuser. 8 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Opening of Hauck Shanghai | H&A". www.hauck-aufhaeuser.com (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  4. ^ "Contact". www.hauck-aufhaeuser.com (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  5. ^ "History". www.hauck-aufhaeuser.com (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  6. ^ "Fosun completes acquisition of Germany private bank Hauck &Aufhäuser Continues to reinforce the blueprint of Fosun'sintegrated financial service business". www.fosun.com. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  7. ^ "Fosun-owned Hauck & Aufhaeuser buys Bankhaus Lampe". Reuters. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  8. ^ "Hauck & Aufhäuser kauft Bankhaus Lampe". www.finance-magazin.de (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  9. ^ "Geschäftsbericht 2015". Hauck & Aufhäuser. Retrieved 5 November 2018.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ a b c "Hauck, Bankiersfamilie". Frankfurter Personenlexikon. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "Geschichte". Hauck & Aufhäuser. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Michael Bentlage". Hauck & Aufhäuser. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Hauck und Aufhäuser jetzt vollständig in Privatbesitz". Handelsblatt. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Deutsche Wirtschaftselite verkauft Traditionsbank an Chinesen". Handelsblatt. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Hauck & Aufhäuser geht an Fosun: Chinesen kaufen deutsche Traditionsbank". ntv. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Bafin gibt Gas: Fosun bald Eigentümer von Hauck & Aufhäuser?". Fonds Online. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Frankfurter Privatbank wird chinesisch". WirtschaftsWoche. 8 July 2015. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  18. ^ "Bafin gibt chinesischer Fosun grünes Licht". DasInvestment. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  19. ^ "Vermögen verdient Beständigkeit". Hauck & Aufhäuser. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  20. ^ Mussler, Hanno (8 February 2017). "Hauck & Aufhäuser hat wieder einen echten Chef". Frankfurter Allgemeine. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Hauck & Aufhäuser erwirbt Luxemburger Sal. Oppenheim-Gesellschaften der Deutschen Bank". Hauck & Aufhäuser. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  22. ^ "Hauck & Aufhäuser übernimmt Luxemburg-Geschäft von Sal. Oppenheim". Fonds Online. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  23. ^ "Hauck & Aufhäuser launches digital asset management". www.internationalinvestment.net. 2018-10-29. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  24. ^ "Der Finanzprodukt Blog » Hauck & Aufhäuser Launches Digital Asset Management With Bionic Robo Advisor". www.finanzprodukt.ch. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  25. ^ October 2018, 26th (2018-10-26). "Hauck & Aufhäuser launches robo-advisor Zeedin". FinTech Futures. Retrieved 2020-09-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ Nilutpal Timsina, Yantoultra Ngui and Matteo Allievi (28 May 2024), ABN Amro to buy German private bank in biggest deal since 2008 financial crisis Reuters.
  27. ^ Nilutpal Timsina, Yantoultra Ngui and Matteo Allievi (28 May 2024), ABN Amro to buy German private bank in biggest deal since 2008 financial crisis Reuters.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h i Aufhäuser, Hauck (2020-09-23). "annual report 2019" (PDF). www.hauck-aufhäuser.com. Retrieved 2020-09-23.

50°06′37″N 8°40′28″E / 50.1104°N 8.6744°E / 50.1104; 8.6744