Coface Germany
Mainz (ots)
“100 years of Coface. Hand on it!” – this is the anniversary motto of the Mainz credit insurer, which is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. On March 19, 1923, the company was founded on the initiative of the Mainz banker Isaac Fulda as the Rheinische Guarantee Bank deposit insurance company. On the occasion of this milestone, Coface looks back on its history with an anniversary campaign.
“We are proud of our history and the development from a Mainz foundation in the 1920s to a global player,” says Katarzyna Kompowska, Coface CEO for Germany and the Northern Europe region. “Our current positioning as part of a global group of companies is based on the experience of the past 100 years. In economically challenging times, such as we are currently experiencing again, Coface has established itself over decades as a reliable and experienced partner for business and secure trade. ”
Mainz founding years and severe crises
On March 19, 1923, merchants from Mainz and a Frankfurt banking institute founded the Rheinische Guarantee Bank deposit insurance company. The initiator was banker Isaac Fulda, who ran the oldest private bank in Mainz. The business purpose of the new establishment was the deposit business throughout the Reich. The first major challenges were not long in coming: After the world economic crisis was over in the early 1930s, the Second World War led to massive restrictions on national trade. The profitable credit system, a sign of a healthy economy, came to a complete standstill after the end of the war and did not start again until 1949.
New beginnings and years of growth
The upswing in the German economy after the war was also reflected in the balance sheet of the Rheinische Guarantee & deposit insurance AG: the premium income rose continuously and the area of activity now covered the entire federal territory. In the course of the economic miracle in the early 1960s, the group of shareholders was expanded and the name was changed to Allgemeine Kreditversicherung AG – AK for short. At this time, foreign trade credit insurance also started, which is still an important part of the core business today. Under the new name, branches and offices were opened in Germany.
Expansion and internationalization
Two further milestones occurred in the mid-1990s: In 1995 the company moved into the new office building on Kisselberg in Mainz. In honor of the company’s founder, the city of Mainz renamed the street of the company’s headquarters to Isaac-Fulda-Allee. After another change of shareholders, Coface SA Paris initially took over 50 percent in 1996 and finally the remaining company shares in 2002. Belonging to the international Coface Group was also documented by the new name, which initially read Allgemeine Kreditversicherung Coface AG. Ten years later, the integration was finally completed – since 2012 the location in Mainz has operated under the name of Coface, branch in Germany.
“Hand on it!”: about the anniversary campaign
The campaign “100 years of Coface. Hand it!” is implemented by the credit insurer together with the communications agency Studio ZX, a company of the ZEIT publishing group. The handshake is a central element. “Since 1923 we have been very close to economic events and support our customers with our risk expertise and experience to grow sustainably. For trusting cooperation and reliability there is a gesture worldwide that expresses exactly that: the handshake. That’s why our birthday stands under this motto”, explains Katarzyna Kompowska. In addition to the publication of an anniversary website ( www.coface100.de) the festival year is flanked by numerous campaigns and events.
About company founder Isaac Fulda
Isaac Fulda was born on July 7, 1868 in Mainz. His father Joseph Fulda was a banker and, as an orthodox Jew, was heavily involved in Jewish community life. Isaac Fulda became a partner in the Fulda banking house in 1892 and married Johanna Rosenblatt in 1897. The marriage produced three children. The two sons Dr. Leonhard and Ernst Fulda, both also bankers, joined the Fulda bank and the Rheinische Guarantee Bank deposit insurance company at the end of the 1920s. The rise of National Socialism and the associated anti-Semitism had devastating consequences for the Fulda family: In 1936, Leonhard Fulda left the board of directors of the Rheinische Guarantee Bank. After the Berlin Reich Office increased the pressure, Isaac Fulda was also removed from the supervisory board. As a result, Isaac Fulda left Germany with his family and initially emigrated to Amsterdam. After the occupation of the Netherlands by German troops, the Fulda family was deported via Westerbork to the Sobibor extermination camp and murdered there on May 28, 1943.
More details on the company history and around the 100th anniversary at: www.coface100.de
Press contact:
Coface, branch in Germany
Sebastian Knierim – Spokesman –
Tel. 06131/323-335
[email protected]
www.coface.de
Original content from: Coface Germany, transmitted by news aktuell
