Marcuard & Co.

Marcuard & Co., founded by Johann Rudolf Marcuard in 1746, was a private bank based in Bern, Switzerland. One of the first banks in Switzerland, it quickly became one of the largest banks of the 18th century.^[1] It was acquired in 1919 by Crédit Suisse.

History

Like many private banks of the pre-modern era, the private bank Marcuard finds its origins in commercial activity.

Johann Rudolf Marcuard (1721–1795), active in the Indian trade (selling printed Indian rubber and importing Arabic rubber and indigo), increasingly specialized in international transactions and payments associated with securities trading.

In 1746, he opened the private bank “Marcuard & Morel”, which from 1755 was called “Jean Rodolphe Marcuard & Cie”.

Under the leadership of Samuel Friedrich Marcuard (1755–1820) and Johann Konrad Beuther, the bank, known from 1775 to 1825 as "Marcuard, Beuther & Cie", became one of the most important banks of the 18th century,^[2] with correspondents in European metropolises such as Vienna, Paris, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam among others.

A large number of European powers called on his services, including Austria, in need of capital following the Seven Years' War.^[3] Among the numerous loans issued by the Marcuard bank to its clients, we find in particular Maria Theresa of Austria, Nicholas I, Prince Esterházy, and various European courts (Turin, Sweden, Denmark, England, France).^[4]^{[page needed]}

The bank was located at Amthausgasse 14 [de] until 1821. Then it moved to Marktgasse 1 – called “Marcuard & Cie” from 1826 – before moving from the mid-19th century to Marktgasse 51. From the turn of the century until 1919, when it was taken over by Credit Suisse with its staff and portfolio, it was based at Christoffelgasse 4.

References

^ Meyer, P. (1913). Beiträge zur Geschichte des Dieselmotors. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 1–57. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-26620-5_1. ISBN 978-3-662-24476-0.
^ Meier, Paul J. (1962). "La Banque Protestante en France de la Revocation de l'Edit de Nantes a la Revolution. By Herbert Lüthy. Vol. I. Dispersion et Regroupement (1685–1730). S.E.V.P.E.N.Paris, 1959. Pp. 454. Vol. II. De la Banque aux Finances (1730–1794) S.E.V.P.E.N. Paris, 1961. Pp. 861". Business History Review. 36 (2): 236–239. doi:10.2307/3111462. ISSN 0007-6805. JSTOR 3111462.
^ Klein, Ernst (1982). Deutsche Bankengeschichte (in German). Knapp. pp. 142–143. ISBN 978-3781902794.
^ Sämtliche Briefe an Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. Bd. 5: August 1817–1820. Berlin: De Gruyter. 2013. ISBN 978-3-11-030443-5.

Bibliography

Rudolf Buser-van Dyc, Zur Geschichte des Bankhauses Marcuard u. Co., Berne, 1913.
Albert Schaufelberger, Die Entwicklung des bernischen Bankwesens : ein Beitrag zur bernischen Heimatgeschichte, Thun, 1948.
Bernard Marcuard, Marcuard : période bernoise : (1745–1982), 1983, p. 58.

[1] Meyer, P. (1913). Beiträge zur Geschichte des Dieselmotors. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 1–57. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-26620-5_1. ISBN 978-3-662-24476-0.

[Business_History_Review-2] Meier, Paul J. (1962). "La Banque Protestante en France de la Revocation de l'Edit de Nantes a la Revolution. By Herbert Lüthy. Vol. I. Dispersion et Regroupement (1685–1730). S.E.V.P.E.N.Paris, 1959. Pp. 454. Vol. II. De la Banque aux Finances (1730–1794) S.E.V.P.E.N. Paris, 1961. Pp. 861". Business History Review. 36 (2): 236–239. doi:10.2307/3111462. ISSN 0007-6805. JSTOR 3111462.

[:02-3] Klein, Ernst (1982). Deutsche Bankengeschichte (in German). Knapp. pp. 142–143. ISBN 978-3781902794.

[4] Sämtliche Briefe an Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. Bd. 5: August 1817–1820. Berlin: De Gruyter. 2013. ISBN 978-3-11-030443-5.

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