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Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
9 a.m. to 12 noon /
12:45 p.m. to 3 p.m.
In July, August and September the Archives are closed to the public.
The Archives will be closed on 18 and 25 February 2025.
Prvá šaľská sporiteľňa, Šaľa
Prvá šaľská sporiteľňa, účastinná spoločnosť (First Šaľa Savings Bank, joint-stock company), was established in 1873 under the Hungarian name Első Vágsellyei takarékpénztár, részvénytársaság, with share capital of 35,000 guldens, which was raised to 70,000 guldens in 1899. The credit institution was founded by Jozef Fekete and Anton Lévay with the aim of preventing usury by offering loans with good terms at reasonable interest rates. After the changeover to the gold-backed crown currency in 1900, the share capital was valued at 140,000 Austro-Hungarian crowns (K). The share capital grew to K 200,000 in 1910 and K 300,000 in 1918. The bank paid regular dividends, ranging from 7% to 11% between 1895 and 1916. By 1918 it had deposits of K 2.2 million and made a net profit of nearly K 61,000.
The bank was adversely impacted by the break-up of Austria-Hungary and the establishment of the first Czechoslovak Republic because its funds were tied up in Budapest. It had also invested a significant amount in war loans, which it managed to have recognised as claims against the Czechoslovak Republic with help from the banking industry organisation Jednota peňažných ústavov na Slovensku a Podkarpatskej Rusi (Association of Credit Institutions in Slovakia and Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia) in Bratislava. To comply with the Savings Bank Act (Act No 302/1920), it renamed itself Prvá šaľská sporivá banka. It changed its name again in 1923 to Prvá šaľská banka (First Šaľa Bank). The bank successfully recovered from its post-war losses and in 1930 it raised its share capital to 600,000 Czechoslovak crowns (Kč). The same year, it became an affiliate institution of Bratislavská prvá sporivá banka.
In 1938 Šaľa was part of the territory ceded to Hungary following the Vienna Arbitration. The bank then returned to its original name of 1873. In 1939 its assets and liabilities were revalued in Hungarian pengő at a ratio of 7:1 and its share capital was topped up to 90,000 pengő.
After the end of the Second World War, the Executive Authority for Finance appointed a temporary administration for the bank headed by Alexander Mlčúch from 25 September 1945. It was replaced by a national administration on 11 December 1945. On 12 June 1946 the Executive Authority for Finance ordered the liquidation of Prvá šaľská sporiteľňa. In 1947 this liquidation was entrusted to Ústredná likvidačná kancelária (Central Liquidation Office), and Oblastná likvidačná kancelária II (Second Local Liquidation Office) was established in Galanta in 1948. In 1949, Slovenská Tatra banka (Slovak Tatra Bank), Bratislava, took over the liquidation. This process was cut short in 1950 when, based on Section 18 of Act No 181/1948, the Ministry of Finance ordered, by Decree No 265/1950, the bank’s merger with Slovenská všeobecná úverná banka (Slovak General Credit Bank), Bratislava. The merger was by universal succession without liquidation, which means that Slovenská všeobecná úverná banka took over all the bank’s assets and liabilities with effect from 1 January 1949.
Archival documents relating to the activities of Prvá šaľská sporiteľňa were entered in the corporate archives of Štátna banka československá (State Bank of Czechoslovakia) in Nitra. In 1962 they were transferred to the corporate archives in Marianka and in 1978 they were relocated to the archives of Štátna banka československá at 27 Krajná Street in Bratislava. The fonds was relocated again to the Národná banka Slovenska archives building at 8 Cukrová Street in Bratislava in 2003.
A small number of documents have been preserved relating to the activities of the bank between 1912 and 1953, written in Hungarian and Slovak. The main topic is the liquidation between 1945 and 1950. Most older documents were probably lost during the Second World War. Nevertheless, the fonds can be useful for scholars studying the consolidation of Slovak banking between 1945 and 1950 and to some extent also for those interested in the bank’s activities before 1939. The archival fonds was processed in the archives of Národná banka Slovenska in 2009. The inventory of the fonds was revised in 2016.
Last updated: Friday, November 22, 2024