Dresdner Bank

Dresdner Bank AG
Company type	Aktiengesellschaft
Industry	Banking
Founded	March 1, 1872; 154 years ago in Dresden, Germany
Founder	Eugen Gutmann
Defunct	May 11, 2009
Fate	Acquired by Commerzbank
Headquarters	Dresden (1872–1884), Berlin (1884–1945), Frankfurt (1963–2009), Germany
Area served	Germany and international locations
Key people	Eugen Gutmann (founder), Jürgen Ponto (former chairman)
Products	Banking, investment banking
Owner	Allianz (2002–2009), Commerzbank (post-2009)

Dresdner Bank AG () was a prominent German bank founded in 1872 in Dresden. Its headquarters were relocated to Berlin from 1884 until 1945, and after a break following World War II, it resumed operations in Frankfurt starting in 1963. Ranking as Germany's second-largest bank after Deutsche Bank, it was ultimately acquired by Commerzbank in May 2009.

1872-1933

Dresdner Bank originated on , evolving from , a private banking institution in Dresden established in 1771, under the leadership of banker Eugen Gutmann. Initial investors comprised (Leipzig), Berliner Handels-Gesellschaft (Berlin), (Frankfurt), (Frankfurt), and (Hamburg). The bank began with capital amounting to 8 million Thalers (equivalent to 24 million Marks) and employed 30 staff members in Dresden. Gutmann served as chairman until 1920.

Throughout the 1870s, Dresdner expanded by acquiring smaller regional banks. It inaugurated a branch in Berlin in 1881, which rapidly surpassed the Dresden operations, leading to the transfer of its registered office to Berlin in 1884. In 1889, Dresdner collaborated with Deutsche Bank to establish the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank in Shanghai and later co-founded Banca Commerciale Italiana in Milan in 1894. Its international presence grew with branches opened in Hamburg (1892, following the absorption of Anglo-Deutsche Bank), Bremen (1895), and London (1901).

In 1905, Dresdner forged a partnership with J. P. Morgan & Co. focusing on international finance and securities issuance, particularly promoting German investments in American securities markets. Its activities across Asia and South America were conducted jointly with the A. Schaaffhausen'scher Bankverein, including the foundation of the Deutsche Orientbank that same year.

By 1908, Dresdner ranked as Germany’s second-largest joint-stock bank based on deposits, holding 225 million Marks—behind Deutsche Bank’s 489 million but ahead of competitors such as Disconto-Gesellschaft and Darmstädter Bank. It was part of the four leading "D-Banks," alongside Darmstädter Bank, Deutsche Bank, and Disconto-Gesellschaft.

During the First World War, although its London branch was closed, Dresdner expanded its overall branch network.

By 1930, Dresdner held third place among German joint-stock banks by deposit volume at 2.3 billion Reichsmarks. It trailed Deutsche Bank and Disconto-Gesellschaft (4.8 billion) and Danat-Bank (2.4 billion) but exceeded Commerz- und Privatbank and other rivals.

Following the banking crisis of 1931, the German Reich acquired a controlling interest—66% ownership—with Deutsche Golddiskontbank holding an additional 22%, resulting in a combined government stake of 97% that led to substantial managerial intervention. During this period of restructuring, Dresdner took full control over Danat-Bank, Mercurbank in Vienna, and Deutsche Orientbank in Istanbul. Its deputy director at the time was Hjalmar Schacht, who later became Minister of Economy under Nazi Germany.

1933-1945

After Adolf Hitler assumed power in 1933, Dresdner Bank—originally founded by Jewish banker Eugen Gutmann—terminated all employment of its approximately 600 Jewish staff members, including board directors, while confiscating their pension rights. The bank was declared "Judenrein" ("cleansed" of Jews) and became an instrument aligned with Nazi policies.

The "Aryanized" Dresdner Bank actively engaged in the Nazi regime’s forced transfer ("Aryanization") of Jewish-owned businesses and emerged as the preferred financial institution for Heinrich Himmler’s SS organization. Between 1936 and 1937, it underwent reprivatization phases and aggressively expanded after the 1938 Anschluss by acquiring Vienna-based Länderbank through its Mercurbank subsidiary via a coerced transaction. Länderbank subsequently merged with Živnostenská Banka’s Austrian branch and operated 33 branches in Vienna (increasing to 36 following acquisition of Società Italiana di Credito’s Austrian operations in 1939), surpassing competitor Creditanstalt-Bankverein controlled by Deutsche Bank.

Following the annexation of the Sudetenland later in 1938, Dresdner Bank, through Länderbank Wien, assumed control over former Böhmische Escompte-Bank branches located in South Moravia. The bulk of Länderbank’s assets were directed toward financing Nazi war efforts. In March 1939, Dresdner completed acquisition of Böhmische Escompte-Bank.

During World War II, Dresdner expanded its influence over numerous banks throughout occupied Europe: Böhmische Escompte-Bank (Prague), Societatea Bancară Română (Bucharest), Handels- und Kreditbank (Riga), Kontinentale Bank (Brussels), Kommerzialbank (Kraków), Deutsche Handels- und Kreditbank (Bratislava), Banque Bulgare de Commerce (Sofia), as well as founding Handelstrust West N.V. (Amsterdam). Following Yugoslavia’s invasion and establishment of the Independent State of Croatia, Dresdner acquired a majority stake (53%) in Jugoslavenska Banka, which was renamed Kroatische Landesbank in June 1941. It also managed the Bank of Athens during Axis occupation without ownership rights to respect Italian interests. In September 1941, it seized shares from Union Européenne Industrielle et Financière within Hungary’s General Credit Bank.

Dresdner Bank provided financial support for concentration camps such as Auschwitz and served as the SS’s banking institution within occupied Poland.

By the conclusion of World War II, approximately 80% of Dresdner Bank’s properties were destroyed, resulting in loss of operations across 162 offices situated in 56 locations.

1945-2002

In the aftermath of World War II, Dresdner Bank encountered significant leadership disruptions: chairman Carl Goetz was held by American authorities until 1947, while former CEO Karl Rasche received a seven-year sentence at the Nuremberg trials. Additionally, the bank’s Turkish branch, Deutsche Orientbank, was dissolved in 1946.

A pivotal moment in Dresdner Bank’s history occurred on 30 July 1977, when chairman Jürgen Ponto was killed during an attempted abduction carried out by the Red Army Faction.

The bank pursued international growth by opening offices throughout Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia, including locations in Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, and the United States. Notably, it became the first financial institution to establish a branch in former East Germany (Dresden) on 2 January 1990. Following German reunification, Dresdner acquired the majority of deposit-taking operations and several branches from Deutsche Kreditbank in 1991 as part of the currency union integration, operating these assets under Dresdner Bank Kreditbank AG until 1993.

In 1995, Dresdner enhanced its investment banking capabilities by acquiring Kleinwort Benson, thereby creating Dresdner Kleinwort. The expansion continued in 2000 with the purchase of New York-based Wasserstein Perella Group Inc., leading to the rebranding of this division as Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.

A planned merger with Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) in 1999 was ultimately blocked, primarily due to resistance from Allianz—Dresdner’s major shareholder and a competitor to BNP’s shareholder AXA.

Partnership with BNP

Dresdner Bank initiated collaboration with Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) beginning in 1988, encouraged by BNP president René Thomas. This partnership resulted in multiple equal-share joint ventures across Central and Eastern Europe following the collapse of communism: Hungary (1990), Czechoslovakia and Russia (1991), Poland (1994), Bulgaria (1995), Croatia (1997), and Romania (1998). The Russian joint venture was led by Matthias Warnig—a former East German Stasi officer with connections to Vladimir Putin—and supported Dresdner’s Saint Petersburg branch. By late 1998, BNP and Dresdner consolidated these ventures into a jointly owned holding company based in Vienna. A comprehensive cooperation agreement signed in 1996 further fueled expectations of deeper integration between the two banks.

While this alliance enjoyed greater favor in Germany than in France, it dissolved after BNP merged with Paribas in 1999-2000. In August 2000, Greece’s Egnatia Bank acquired the Romanian joint venture. Subsequently, Dresdner and BNP Paribas divided their remaining joint ventures: BNP Paribas took over Dresdner’s holdings in Bulgaria (where the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development owned a 20% stake), Hungary, and Poland; meanwhile, Dresdner assumed BNP Paribas’s shares in Croatia, Czechia, and Russia. Their broader cooperative agreement concluded amicably in October 2002.

Following the partnership’s end, BNP Paribas notably expanded its presence in Poland through the acquisition of BGZ Bank in 2015 and maintained smaller-scale operations in Bulgaria and Hungary—the latter ranking 19th by assets at the close of 2023. Dresdner sold its Croatian operations to Zagrebačka banka in 2005 before being acquired by Commerzbank between 2008 and 2009. Commerzbank merged its Russian subsidiaries in 2010 but began scaling back activities after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022; payment services ceased by 2023 with withdrawal efforts ongoing through 2025. As of that year, Commerzbank continued to operate within Czechia. The Romanian joint venture experienced several transformations: becoming Egnatia Bank Romania in 2001, Marfin Bank Romania in 2008, and since 2019 has operated under a new identity.

Acquisition by Allianz

In 2002, the insurance giant Allianz acquired Dresdner Bank, making it a fully owned subsidiary. By July 2006, Dresdner Kleinwort removed Wasserstein from its title and restructured its corporate banking, capital markets, and investment banking units.

Acquisition by Commerzbank

On August 31, 2008, Commerzbank declared its intention to purchase Dresdner Bank for €9.8 billion. The formal merger of Dresdner Bank into Commerzbank took place on May 11, 2009, resulting in the dissolution of Dresdner Bank as a separate entity.

In 2009, Deutsche Bank absorbed Dresdner Bank's Agency Securities Lending operations into its global transaction banking division.

Dresdner Bank pursued a banking license in Saint Petersburg, capitalizing on ties to former KGB officer Vladimir Putin. It appointed Matthias Warnig, a former Stasi operative and Putin's associate, to conduct negotiations with Russian officials. The bank established its branch there in 1991 as a joint venture with Banque nationale de Paris (BNP), maintaining this partnership in Eastern European markets until 2000. Warnig later assumed the position of chairman at Dresdner Bank ZAO, the Russian subsidiary based in the former German embassy building.

The institution cultivated profitable partnerships with Russian energy corporations Gazprom and Rosneft, providing advisory services during the compulsory sale of Yukos assets.

In 2017, prosecutors in Frankfurt conducted raids on Commerzbank offices and residences linked to suspects involved in a tax evasion investigation concerning dividend stripping ("cum-ex" deals). The inquiry also covered transactions executed at Dresdner Bank prior to its merger.

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