Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft
A former German state-owned bank that financed industrial, commercial, and government-related activity from the interwar period until its closure in 1945.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft, commonly abbreviated RKG and translated as Credit Company of the Reich, was a German state-owned banking institution headquartered in Berlin. Its origins lay in the financial administration of Germany's First World War economy rather than in a conventional private banking venture. In 1917, the Reich Treasury established a Statistical Office for War Companies to help coordinate the financing of companies created to support the war effort. These war-related organizations generated financial surpluses and funding requirements that required centralized accounting, oversight, and credit administration. After the end of the war, the assets and liabilities associated with this wartime structure were transferred to Reichs-Kredit- und Kontrollstelle GmbH, a limited-liability company owned by the German government. The institution was subsequently reorganized. On 7 March 1923, the government-owned VIAG company founded Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft mbH to assume the activities of the earlier credit and control entity. In the following year, the company was converted into a joint-stock company. Samuel Ritscher served as its general manager during this formative phase. RKG operated as a specialized and increasingly important banking institution during the Weimar-era financial system. Its activities included industrial and commercial lending, securities business, asset management, and trade finance. Although it did not develop a branch network outside Berlin, the bank achieved a notable scale by the end of the 1920s. In 1930, it ranked as Germany's fifth-largest joint-stock bank by total deposits, reporting approximately 619 million Reichsmarks. It remained smaller than the country's leading universal banks, including Deutsche Bank & Disconto-Gesellschaft, Danat-Bank, Dresdner Bank, and Commerz- und Privatbank, but its ranking demonstrated the importance of its state-connected financing role. The bank's history ended in 1945 following Germany's defeat in the Second World War. Soviet occupation authorities closed RKG and appropriated its assets, as they did with banks operating in the Soviet occupation zone. The institution did not resume operations as an independent bank. Some former RKG employees later occupied senior positions at Frankfurter Bank, providing an institutional personnel link between the defunct Berlin bank and postwar West German banking. RKG is therefore best understood as a historical banking institution tied to wartime administration, state-directed finance, and the changing structure of German banking between the First and Second World Wars.
History
Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft developed out of the German government's wartime financial machinery. In 1917, during the First World War, the Reich Treasury created a Statistical Office for War Companies to support the financing and financial balancing of organizations established for the war effort. The office addressed the movement of money between war-related companies and helped manage their differing surpluses and requirements. Following the war, the relevant assets and liabilities were transferred to Reichs-Kredit- und Kontrollstelle GmbH, a government-owned limited-liability company. This entity formed the immediate institutional predecessor of RKG. On 7 March 1923, VIAG, itself owned by the German government, established Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft mbH to take over the earlier organization. The company was converted into a joint-stock company in 1924, with Samuel Ritscher identified as its general manager. RKG became active in several areas of banking, including industrial and commercial credit, securities, asset management, and trade finance. Its state ownership and origins in wartime economic administration gave it a distinctive position within the German financial system, while its business activities resembled those of a specialized commercial bank. The institution was based in Berlin and apparently operated without branches outside the city. Despite this limited geographic network, it expanded to a substantial level of deposits during the interwar period. By 1930, RKG was Germany's fifth-largest joint-stock bank measured by total deposits, with deposits of 619 million Reichsmarks. It remained behind Deutsche Bank & Disconto-Gesellschaft, Danat-Bank, Dresdner Bank, and Commerz- und Privatbank. Its position indicates that the bank had become a significant participant in German corporate and commercial finance, even though it lacked the nationwide branch presence of larger universal banks. The institution ceased to exist in 1945. After the Second World War, Soviet occupation forces closed RKG and took control of its assets, consistent with the treatment of banks in the Soviet occupation zone. The bank was not re-established as an independent institution. Former RKG personnel later included individuals who assumed leadership positions at Frankfurter Bank, but this represented a personnel continuity rather than a documented corporate continuation. RKG's historical importance consequently lies in its connection to German wartime finance, public ownership, interwar banking, and the postwar dissolution of financial institutions in the Soviet occupation zone.
- 1945
Closed by Soviet occupation authorities
[1]Soviet occupation forces closed the bank and appropriated its assets as part of the postwar treatment of banks in their occupation zone.
- 1930
Reached fifth place among German joint-stock banks by deposits
[1]RKG reported deposits of 619 million Reichsmarks and ranked as Germany's fifth-largest joint-stock bank by total deposits, despite having no branches outside Berlin.
- 1924
Converted into a joint-stock company
[1]RKG was reorganized from a private limited company into a joint-stock company, with Samuel Ritscher serving as general manager.
- 1923
Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft founded
[1]On 7 March, VIAG founded Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft mbH to take over the predecessor credit and control entity.
- 1917
Wartime financial office established
[1]The Reich Treasury created the Statistical Office for War Companies to help finance and balance the financial requirements of organizations supporting Germany's First World War effort.
Predecessor transferred to Reichs-Kredit- und Kontrollstelle
[1]After the First World War, the relevant assets and liabilities of the wartime structure were transferred to the government-owned Reichs-Kredit- und Kontrollstelle GmbH.
Products and positioning
A state-owned, Berlin-based specialist and commercial bank serving industrial, commercial, securities, asset-management, and trade-finance needs.
Banking
Industrial and commercial credit
RKG provided credit to industrial and commercial borrowers. This activity reflected the institution's origins in state-directed financial administration and its later role as an important interwar German bank. The available historical account identifies industrial and commercial lending as one of the bank's principal areas of activity, but does not provide a detailed breakdown of loan products or customer sectors.
Investment banking
Securities services
The bank conducted securities business as part of its broader financial-services portfolio. The surviving description does not specify particular securities, underwriting programs, or distribution channels, but identifies securities activity as one of RKG's established operating areas during the interwar period.
Wealth management
Asset management
RKG offered asset-management services alongside credit and securities activities. The available source does not identify specific managed funds, mandates, or client groups. The service formed part of the bank's role in administering and allocating capital within the German financial system before its closure in 1945.
Commercial banking
Trade finance
Trade finance was another listed area of RKG activity. The historical record does not provide details about instruments or markets, but the service indicates that the bank supported commercial transactions in addition to its industrial lending and securities businesses.
Brand decisions
1945
Closure and asset appropriationOtherBackground
Germany's defeat in the Second World War placed banks in the Soviet occupation zone under occupation-authority control.
Action taken
Soviet occupation forces closed RKG and appropriated its assets.
Aftermath
RKG disappeared as an operating bank and was not restored as an independent institution.
1924
Conversion into a joint-stock companyStrategyBackground
After its establishment as a private limited company, RKG was reorganized within the German banking system.
Action taken
The company was converted into a joint-stock company and continued under the management of Samuel Ritscher.
Aftermath
The conversion preceded the bank's expansion into industrial and commercial credit, securities, asset management, and trade finance.
1923
Creation of a successor banking companyStrategyBackground
The government needed a successor structure for the postwar assets and liabilities of the wartime credit administration represented by Reichs-Kredit- und Kontrollstelle GmbH.
Action taken
VIAG established Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft mbH on 7 March 1923 to assume the predecessor institution.
Aftermath
The new company became the foundation for RKG's subsequent development as a significant Berlin-based joint-stock bank.
Sources1 sources
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