the world of private banking
the world of private banking
the world of private banking
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PRIVAtE BANKS AND INDUStRy 207<br />
Shipping and railways<br />
Considering Cologne’s long tradition as a trading city, it seems a matter <strong>of</strong><br />
course that <strong>the</strong> transport industry became one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first fields <strong>of</strong> investment<br />
for <strong>the</strong> Oppenheim Bank. In 1825, it belonged to <strong>the</strong> founders <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Preußisch-<br />
Rheinische Dampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft (Prussian-Rhenish Steamship Company),<br />
specializing in goods trade on <strong>the</strong> Rhine. About a decade later, Sal. Oppenheim<br />
took part in establishing and financing some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first major railway lines in<br />
Germany, <strong>the</strong> first <strong>of</strong> which was <strong>the</strong> Rheinische Eisenbahn (Rhenish Railway<br />
Company) established in 1837, linking Cologne with Aachen; on <strong>the</strong> Belgian side,<br />
<strong>the</strong> railway ended in Antwerp. Only two years later, <strong>the</strong> company went through a<br />
severe crisis triggered by speculation in railway shares, and it was only through<br />
close cooperation between <strong>the</strong> Oppenheim Bank and <strong>the</strong> Belgian government<br />
that <strong>the</strong> company could be saved. Geographically, <strong>the</strong> bank’s activities first <strong>of</strong><br />
all focused on <strong>the</strong> Rhineland, but soon broadened out to o<strong>the</strong>r parts <strong>of</strong> Germany,<br />
notably <strong>the</strong> North and East, e.g. <strong>the</strong> Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn (Cologne-Minden<br />
Railway Company) as part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> highly important line to Berlin. After <strong>the</strong> major<br />
railway lines in Germany had been established, <strong>the</strong> bank turned in <strong>the</strong> 1880s to<br />
<strong>the</strong> funding <strong>of</strong> local lines, showing that investment in railways continued to be a<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>itable business.<br />
From <strong>the</strong> 1850s onwards, <strong>the</strong> Oppenheim Bank also engaged in financing foreign<br />
railway lines, e.g. in Italy, in <strong>the</strong> Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Romania and in Russia.<br />
Its most important foreign commitment was its participation in <strong>the</strong> international<br />
Gotthardbahn (Gotthard Railway) project linking central Europe and Italy.<br />
Mining and heavy industry<br />
This leading sector <strong>of</strong> industry became a major focus <strong>of</strong> interest for <strong>the</strong> Oppenheim<br />
Bank as early as <strong>the</strong> 1830s. Its first commitments were centred in <strong>the</strong> region<br />
around Aachen, which had a long-standing tradition <strong>of</strong> coal mining. There <strong>the</strong><br />
bank merged <strong>the</strong> numerous small coalmines operating on a local level into <strong>the</strong><br />
Vereinigungsgesellschaft für Steinkohlenbau im Wurmrevier, a company which<br />
was one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first to operate on a rational, pr<strong>of</strong>it-orientated capitalist philosophy<br />
and gives an early example <strong>of</strong> horizontal concentration. A few years later, <strong>the</strong><br />
bank became active in zinc mining in <strong>the</strong> same area as co-founder and major<br />
shareholder <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Stolberger Zink AG. It is important to note this company’s close<br />
connection with French business partners: <strong>the</strong> top management was French, most<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> capital was raised on <strong>the</strong> French market and <strong>the</strong> company was quoted on <strong>the</strong><br />
Paris Stock Exchange. <br />
<br />
G. Teichmann, ‘Das Bankhaus Oppenheim und die industrielle Entwicklung im<br />
Aachener Revier (1836–1855)’, in M. Köhler and K. Ulrich (eds), Banken, Konjunktur<br />
und Politik. Beiträge zur Geschichte deutscher Banken im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (Essen,<br />
1995), pp. 16–17.