The Südwestbank AG (stylized as SÜDWESTBANK) is a regional bank in the southwest of Germany which is located in Stuttgart. The bank operates in the form of a stock corporation and looks after about 100,000 private and corporate customers in Baden-Württemberg. It was acquired in 2017 by Austrian bank BAWAG P.S.K.
History
The Südwestbank was originally founded in 1922 as Württembergische Landwirtschaftsbank GmbH in Stuttgart. In 1954 it was continued as Südwestdeutsche Landwirtschaftsbank GmbH. From the year 1964, it traded as Südwestbank GmbH. By changing the legal form in 1970 it became the Südwestbank AG. Organizationally, the bank was connected to the Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken (BVR). The main owner was the DZ Bank.
In 2004, Santo Holding GmbH of Andreas and Thomas Strüngmann bought DZ Bank's stake of 89.6%.[2] As a result, the Südwestbank left the union of cooperative banks and joined the Bundesverband deutscher Banken and its deposit insurance fund on 1 January 2005. In spring 2008, its CEO was dismissed and the business strategy was redirected toward wealthy private customers.[3]