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Slovenská všeobecná úverná banka, Bratislava
In 1920 the first Czechoslovak Republic adopted the “nostrification law” under which firms doing business in Czechoslovakia were obliged to have their headquarters in the country. The Hungarian General Credit Bank (Magyar általános hitelbank), which had branches in Bratislava and Košice and several smaller affiliated financial institutions in Slovakia, set up Slovenská všeobecná úverná banka (Slovak General Credit Bank) in Bratislava as a way to maintain these branches and affiliate relationships. The inaugural general meeting adopted the Articles of Association on 8 October 1921 and the bank was registered in the companies register on 29 October the same year. It began operating on 1 January 1922.
Several important politicians had an influence on the establishment of the bank including Milan Hodža, Martin Mičura, Fedor Houdek and Pavol Blaho. The Articles of Association stipulated an 8-15 -member administrative board elected for a 3-year term. František Kužma was the first chairman of the board, later succeeded by Fedor Houdek. Most of the staff in the branches and affiliated institutions were former employees of the Hungarian General Credit Bank who had been recruited from the Hungarian community.
At the start of the 1930s, the growing influence of Banka československých légií (Bank of the Czechoslovak Legions, Legiobanka) led to changes in the bank’s management that increased the influence of Czechs and Slovaks. Besides Fedor Houdek, board members in this period included the managing director of Legiobanka Jozef Khyn, Jozef Beck, Jozef Kukla, Pavel Varsik, and the chief executive of Ľudová banka, Ružomberok, Anton Mederly. Martin Mičura was the chairman of the supervisory board for several years.
The bank’s initial share capital was 50 million Czechoslovak crowns (Kč) in which the largest share – 40% – was held by a syndicate of Slovak banks led by Americko-slovenská banka (American-Slovak Bank). Another 30% share was retained by the Hungarian General Credit Bank and the final 30% share was owned by the Bohemian Discount Bank, Prague. At that time there was discussion about increasing the share capital to Kč 100 million. It was also envisaged that in future the share of Slovak investors in the company should come to predominate over foreign interests. Neither of these goals was achieved. Americko-slovenská banka lost its position in 1925 when the Bohemian Discount Bank, Prague (itself largely controlled by foreign capital) expanded its capital holding to 48%. As a result, Slovenská všeobecná úverná banka became part of its group.
The bank’s headquarters was in a new building on Štúrova Street in the centre of Bratislava. It initially had just one branch (in Košice) but in just a few years it established a network of branches throughout Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia. By 1930 it had 12 branches, 2 bureaux de change (in Bratislava) and 7 affiliated banks. After mergers in the 1930s, it had 24 branches and 4 affiliated banks.
The bank was very successful in its first few years. It gradually acquired capital holdings both in financial institutions and various industrial and commercial enterprises. Companies under its influence included Účastinná spoločnosť pre stavebný a drevársky priemysel, Košice, Slovenská Grafia, účastinná spoločnosť in Bratislava, Hospodárska, priemyselná a obchodná účastinná spoločnosť in Bratislava, Spojená stavebná účastinná spoločnosť in Bratislava, and Hospodársky liehovar, rafinéria a mlynská účastinná spoločnosť in Uzhhorod.
This promising development was threatened by the troubles of Americko-slovenská banka, which began to incur significant losses. As a result of these, it became an affiliate of Legiobanka in 1929, and the following year Legiobanka bought out the capital holdings of the Bohemian Discount Bank, Prague, and the Hungarian General Credit Bank. Legiobanka thus became the majority owner of Slovenská všeobecná úverná banka. This change was soon reflected in the membership of the bank’s management bodies. During the Great Depression, Legiobanka consolidated its group by merging Americko-slovenská banka with Slovenská všeobecná úverná banka from 1 January 1933. Legiobanka was building up a very strong position in Slovakia and it decided to use Slovenská všeobecná úverná banka to represent its interests in Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia.
The Vienna Arbitration in autumn 1938 marked the beginning of the protracted end for Slovenská všeobecná úverná banka. The transfer of territory in southern Slovakia to Hungary deprived the bank of several of its branches, affiliates and business holdings. The membership of the administrative board was changed in 1939 and Ján Lichner became its chairman. On 30 March 1940, the Ministry of Finance ordered Slovenská všeobecná úverná banka to be merged with Tatra banka. The ministry subsequently amended this order on 28 June 1941 when it decided to place the bank in liquidation from 1 July 1941. The liquidation would be managed by Union banka, Bratislava (for a part of the headquarters’ business, one of the Bratislava bureaux de change and the branches in Banská Bystrica and Prešov) and Tatra banka (for the remainder of the headquarters’ business, the other Bratislava bureau de change and the other ten branches). The liquidation remained incomplete at the end of the Second World War. It was finally dissolved only on 15 November 1951, when it was taken over with universal succession by Štátna banka československá (State Bank of Czechoslovakia). It was deleted from the Companies Register of the Regional Court in Bratislava on 5 February 1952.
Partial processing has been carried out for archival documents relating to the bank’s headquarters in Bratislava and its branches in Malacky, Trenčín, Skalica, Šaštín, Stará Ľubovňa and Vranov nad Topľou. The most informative documents are those from the bank’s statutory bodies, the annual reports, the accounts, and records relating to the bank’s liquidation, including the original protocol on the meeting of the founders.
Last updated: Tuesday, January 31, 2023