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Foresight Through Proximity

Key milestones in our history

29 November 1941 to 1946

Starting a business in difficult times

On 29 November 1941, the Landesbank und Girozentrale Westmark, the predecessor of SaarLB, was founded. Under the leadership of Hubert Dohmen, its launch during the Second World War went smoothly.
According to the National Socialists’ plans, the new financial institution was to take over all financial transactions in the Saarland, the Palatinate and occupied Lorraine within the shortest possible time. Like the entire German banking sector, the Landesbank was ‘brought into line’ and integrated into the National Socialist war economy and armaments financing. From July onwards, the bank was placed under the authority of the French military government. On 15 September 1946, it was renamed Landesbank und Girozentrale Saar.

29 November 1941 to 1946

1948 to 1959

Reconstruction under French administration

In 1948, the Landesbank und Girozentrale Saar moved back from St. Ingbert to Saarbrücken, and business operations returned to normal. The bank played a significant role in the Saarland’s early ‘economic miracle’. To coordinate its activities in the important French market, it established its own office in Paris in 1952. In the Saarland, the Saarländische Investitionskreditbank, which it had helped to establish, and the Bausparkasse, founded as a division of SaarLB, provided the urgently needed funds for the economy and the population. The economic reintegration of the Saarland into the Federal Republic in July 1959 marked the beginning of a new era.

1948 to 1959

1959 to 1974

On the way to becoming a leading bank

Shortly after the Saarland joined the Federal Republic of Germany and the introduction of the Deutschmark, SaarLB founded the Banque Franco-Allemande. The institution quickly became a key player in Franco-German economic relations. At the height of the ‘Economic Miracle’, SaarLB, through its Landesbausparkasse, helped many people fulfil their dream of owning their own home. The bank not only became a strong partner for its customers but also committed itself to the arts, culture and science. At the same time, the economic boom and the continuous expansion of payment transactions repeatedly necessitated organisational changes. Thus, in 1965, SaarLB introduced electronic data processing in its accounting department. By the early 1970s, SaarLB had become a universal bank and the leading financial institution in the Saarland.

1959 to 1974

1974 to 1990

‘Committed to the Saar’ in times of structural change

In 1974, the Saarland was undergoing profound structural change. The Landesbank, at that time a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Saarland savings banks, supported the region’s economic development. At the same time, it established itself in the international banking centre of Luxembourg. Under the abbreviated name SaarLB, the bank has presented itself as modern and customer-focused since the late 1970s. Technological progress and the automation of payment transactions were transforming operational processes in both domestic and international business. Herbert Weber, who took over as Chairman of the Board in 1984, kept SaarLB on a growth trajectory. Then, in 1989, the long-established bank reached a turning point: for the first time in its history, the ownership structure changed; the state became a co-shareholder with a 23.5 per cent stake and the second guarantor; the Sparkassen- und Giroverband Saar retained 76.5 per cent.

1974 to 1990

1990 to 2007

Stepping into the new millennium

In order to strengthen its competitiveness in the European single market, SaarLB brought BayernLB on board in 1993. Internationally, the bank embarked on a course of expansion with the opening of a branch in Luxembourg in 1996; regionally, it continued to support structural change in the state. The Saarländische Wagnisfinanzierungsgesellschaft, which it founded, supports start-ups from the academic sector, whilst the science prize it established promotes innovative, business-oriented ideas. In 2002, SaarLB faced new challenges following the abolition of state guarantee liability. With effect from 1 January 2002, BayernLB acquired a 75.1 per cent majority stake in the Saarland Landesbank. Even as a smaller subsidiary of BayernLB, SaarLB remains an independent universal bank and retains its regional identity.

1990 to 2007

2007 to 2016

Positioning as a Franco-German bank

In 2007 – even before the financial crisis began – SaarLB launched the 4711 strategy project, which enabled the bank to develop its cross-border market position as a Franco-German bank during the most severe economic crisis of the post-war era. When the Saarland acquired BayernLB’s shares in
SaarLB in 2010, the state government thereby permanently secured the independence of ‘its’ bank. As the largest financial institution in the region, SaarLB makes a significant contribution to the supply of credit to the economy and the public sector. With its Franco-German focus, its highly qualified staff and its SME-oriented project financing, particularly in the field of renewable energies, SaarLB is “at home in both markets”.

2007 to 2016

2016 to the present

At home in both markets

Between 2017 and 2023, SaarLB established a further six branches in Strasbourg, Paris, Lyon, Trier, Mannheim and Koblenz.
In 2019, the Pôle Franco-Allemand was founded – a forum for cross-border investment – from France to Germany and vice versa. The Pôle Franco-Allemand has since established itself as the forum for cross-border investment and boasts a large number of renowned network partners.
For over 80 years, SaarLB has demonstrated its commitment – both to the region and to its customers and partners. From the very beginning, the aim has always been to provide impetus for the region’s economy with foresight.

2016 to the present

Find out more about our history
in the chronicle marking our 75th anniversary

To mark our 80th anniversary
, we have published a Franco-German magazine – Public.

Read about what CLOSENESS means to us
and how differently this powerful word is interpreted.

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Ihr Ansprechpartner

Philipp Werthmüller

Communication & Media
Phone: +49 681 383-1264
philipp.werthmueller@saarlb.de
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