End of an era
October 30, 2009
The name Sal Oppenheim is associated in Germany's financial center Frankfurt with the fortunes of the ultra wealthy.
Under a takeover deal due to be completed in the first quarter of 2010, all activities of the German subsidiary Sal. Oppenheim will also be transferred to Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest bank.
Consolidation of sector
Market observers, such as Ruediger Rosen, the head of the Deutsches Aktieninstitut, an association of German exchange-listed corporations and other companies, have welcomed the move.
"Any kind of stabilization of the German banking sector also helps the German economy," Rosen said.
"Deutsche Bank and Oppenheim have worked together closely on many projects in the past. They reinforce the German banking sector in general. This reinforcement will also mean that the institution's ability to make loans will exist in the future just as they have in the past."
The management of Sal Oppenheim had no other choice, but to accept Deutsche Bank's offer. The struggling bank was one of the main stakeholders in the bankrupt German retailer Arcandor, the parent company of the department store chain Karstadt.
The change at the helm will take some getting used to for customers of the blue-blooded private bank. But asset management operations are expected to continue under the renowned trademark name as a concession to the bank's elite clientele.
Bank with noble lineage
The institution was set up by the young Salomon Oppenheim, who moved from Frankfurt to the Rhineland in 1789. After helping the prince-elector Clemens August out of a tight financial corner, he enjoyed the patronage of the ruler.
Oppenheim was only 17 years old when he founded a commission and exchange house in Bonn, and swiftly moved his activities to the trading metropolis of Cologne.
The Jewish financier decided to concentrate on the upper end of the market. His son Abraham was made a member of the Prussian aristocracy in 1868.
In 1938, as a result of pressure from the Nazis, the bank was forced to change its name to "Pferdmenges & Co". Robert Pferdmenges had been a partner in the bank since 1929 and he continued to manage the bank along with two members of the Oppenheim family. Later, the Oppenheims were arrested by the Nazis.
After the end of the war, the bank reverted to its original name. From the 1950s onwards, Sal. Oppenheim maintained a strong presence in Frankfurt and two years ago it relocated to Luxembourg. The Oppenheims have written banking history for more than seven generations.
Reporter: Samir Ibrahim (jg)
Editor: Sam Edmonds