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Hospodárska banka, Bratislava
It was founded under the name Hospodárska banka, účastinná spoločnosť (Farm Bank, joint-stock company) in Trnava on 30 October 1906. It also operated under names in Hungarian (Gazdasági bank, reszvénytársaság) and German (Landwirtschaftliche Bank A. G.). The bank’s administrative bodies consisted of the general meeting of shareholders, the board of directors, the executive committee, the directorate and the supervisory board.
The bank’s founders were Ferdinand Juriga, František Skyčák and Milan Ivanka. The staff of the directorate consisted of Ján Záturecký (chairman of the board of directors), Imrich Parák (vice-chairman), Ján Novák, Ján Zigmundík, Milan Ivanka, Peter Makovický, Jozef Kunovský and Štefan Čavara. The elected members of the supervisory board were Cyril Horváth (chairman), Ján Cablk, Emil Izák, Miloš Pietor and Jozef Krafta. Milan Ivanka became the bank’s attorney, Pavol Pietor its chief accountant and Ján Zigmundík the chief treasurer.
The bank was established in Trnava despite the fact that this relatively small town already had three older financial institutions. Hospodárska banka, Trnava, was established with capital of 100,000 Austro-Hungarian crowns (K) divided into a thousand shares with a nominal value of K 100. The first version of its articles of association indicated that it would take monetary deposits on passbooks, current accounts and banker’s notes, provide loans secured by mortgages, bills and promissory notes, current account loans, and participate in the establishment and ownership of industrial, commercial and agricultural enterprises. The bank could also buy and sell moveable assets, commodities, securities, valuables and real estate for its own and others’ accounts. It would also take custody of produce, raw materials, crops, securities, precious metals and miscellaneous articles.
At the beginning, it had difficulty recruiting clients. It began to trade in agricultural products, especially wine. It purchased properties with large wine cellars in Modra and Pezinok and set up branches there. It also provided loans to farmers and labourers for agricultural machinery that were in high demand at the time.
In 1909 it issued a thousand new shares with the result that it had capital of K 200,000 in 1910, which grew to K 500,000 six years later. In 1919, its capital amounted to 5 million crowns.
The bank used this capital to invest in various enterprises and shifted its focus from small-scale local trade to participation in financing businesses such as the distillery Považský liehovar in Leopoldov, a scythe factory in Bratislava, Prvá slovenská poisťovňa – an insurance company in Bratislava, Slovenská veľkonákupná spoločnosť – a wholesaler in Trnava and Slovenská roľnícka banka – a bank in Košice. In addition, the bank set up its own business for selling and repairing agricultural machinery.
In 1920, the bank increased its share capital to 20 million Czechoslovak crowns (Kč) and relocated its head office from Trnava to Bratislava, basing itself at 2 Coronation Square (now Ľudovít Štúr Square). The number of branches increased from three in 1916 to eighteen in 1920. After relocating its headquarters to Bratislava, it took over Bratislavská obchodná spoločnosť and partnered with Tatra banka in the establishment of Drevárska banka in Bratislava. It was the co-owner of the wood company Drevársky spolok in Bratislava, a steam mill in Šenkvice, a film company in Bratislava and a chocolate factory in Trnava.
In the same period it took over several financial institutions in Slovakia through mergers: in 1920, Ľudová banka in Nové Mesto nad Váhom, Roľnícka banka in Hliník and Nová banka in Myjava; in 1921, Banskoštiavnická ľudová banka and Banskoštiavnická sporiteľňa in Banská Štiavnica, Úverná banka in Piešťany, Hornovidiecka hospodárska banka in Nitra, Gazdovská a priemyselná banka in Šahy, Hospodárska banka in Šahy and Obchodná banka in Levice. The acquired businesses did not generate the expected return, with the result that Hospodárska banka got into financial difficulties. Having failed to obtain credit from domestic banks, the bank management decided, at the proposal of director Tomáš Tvarožek, to send director Ján Cablk, his brother Gustáv Cablk and authorised signatory Viliam Filípek to America to raise funds. It was hoped that they would arrange a loan of at least Kč 1 million and deposits from American Slovaks, who might also subscribe to shares in the bank. They failed to obtain a loan. The deposits and share subscriptions were also less than expected, while the cost of maintaining three people in America were high, so the trio were gradually brought back to Europe.
In the four years after the war Hospodárska banka turned itself into a major bank but its wide-ranging investments over-strained its finances. On 7 December 1921, an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders accepted the proposal of director Milan Ivanka, who sat on the boards of directors of both Hospodárska banka and Slovenská banka, for a merger with Slovenská banka from 31 December 1921.
The bank’s preserved documents were entered in the corporate archive of Štátna banka československá at Marianka in a disorganised condition. Partial processing of the archival fonds was carried out here. An inventory was made in 1966 and revised at the Archives of Národná banka Slovenska in 2015. The archival documents are written in Slovak and Hungarian.
Last updated: Wednesday, December 27, 2023