First Croatian Savings Bank
The First Croatian Savings Bank was a significant Croatian bank headquartered in Zagreb. The bank was founded in 1846 and liquidated in 1945.
It has been described as "the first modern credit institution in Zagreb" and "one of the most significant financial institutions in Croatia's banking history".
History
Habsburg era
The First Croatian Savings Bank was created on March 4, 1846, in Zagreb, on the basis of Imperial Austrian legislation of 1844 that facilitated the establishment of savings banks. It followed precedents such as the Erste österreichische Spar-Casse in Vienna, the Laibacher Sparkasse in nearby Ljubljana, and the First National Savings Bank of Pest. Its founders included Ljudevit Gaj, Dimitrija Demeter, Antun Mažuranić,,, and. The latter became the bank's first president. The shareholders were mostly merchants of Gradec, which five years later merged with its sister town of Kaptol to form the city of Zagreb. Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, more liberal Hungarian legislation allowed the bank to expand its range of activities and to pay dividends to individual shareholders, by which it acquired widespread appeal as a badge of South Slavic pride and self-awareness.In the late 1890s the bank commissioned a new head office complex bordering Zagreb's central Ilica thoroughfare, designed by architect Josip Vancaš and completed in 1900. It includes the Oktogon gallery that has become an icon of belle époque Zagreb.
Yugoslav era
After the disruption of World War I, Zagreb emerged as the dominant financial center of the newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the First Croatian Savings Bank administered 40 percent of all deposits in the city. By 1924, it had branches in Belgrade, Bjelovar, Slavonski Brod, Celje, Crikvenica, Čakovec, Daruvar, Delnice, Đakovo, Dubrovnik, Đurđevac, Ilok, Karlovac, Kraljevica, Križevci, Ljubljana, Maribor, Sremska Mitrovica, Nova Gradiška, Novi Sad, Ogulin, Osijek, Požega, Senj, Sisak, Skopje, Split, Subotica, Sušak, Sveti Ivan Zelina, Varaždin, Velika Gorica, Vinkovci, Virovitica, Vukovar, Zemun as well as Fiume. In 1928, it took over the United Central Bank of Sarajevo, resulting in further branches in Banja Luka, Bihać, Brčko, Derventa, Mostar, Travnik, and Tuzla. In 1930-1931, its chairman was vice-governor of the National Bank of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.During the European banking crisis of 1931, however, the bank faced massive deposit withdrawal in the autumn of that year, and, at its request, was placed under moratorium by decree of, a measure that was subsequently extended to other financial institutions under stress. It had to sell land holdings and reduce its lending in the following years, with detrimental macroeconomic effects in Croatia.