Bank Polski SA
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Bank Polski SA, full name Bank Polski Spółka Akcyjna (lit. 'Bank of Poland Joint-stock Company'), sometimes referred to as the "Second Bank of Poland" to distinguish it from its 19th-century namesake, was the
History
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When Poland emerged as an independent country in 1918, it combined territories formerly under the central banking jurisdiction of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Bank, and German Reichsbank, and had no central bank of its own. For a few years, the Polish National Loan Fund took over a temporary role of issuing currency, but was unable to avert hyperinflation.
Following the State Treasury Repair Act of January 11, 1924, minister
At least 30 percent of the money was to be backed by gold (and a smaller amount by silver) and foreign currencies; after the reform of 1927, this threshold was increased to 40 percent. The dividend paid to shareholders could not exceed 8 percent. When the profit was between 8 and 12 percent, half went to the State Treasury and the other half to shareholders as a superdividend. Above 12 percent, the state collected two thirds.
Prior to the
Similarly to other Allied Military Currency bank notes, American "Liberation banknotes" for Poland were printed in 1944. On 15 January 1945, the new communist authorities of Poland founded the National Bank of Poland (NBP).[3]
In 1946, the bank's governor Bohdan Winiarski led the decision to move the institution back to Warsaw. A stock of gold from the bank's deposits in British, French and American banks was returned to Poland, as well as banknotes printed in Great Britain and intended for circulation in the country. However, they notes were not released into circulation because the Polish government, upon establishment of the NBP, had deprived the Bank Polski of its note-issuance privilege. Meanwhile, the stock of gold that backed those banknotes was distributed by the communist authorities for budget expenditure in the years 1946–1958, and was partially allocated to compensation for citizens of foreign countries expropriated as a result of the Polish Act on the Nationalization of Industry. This was done by transferring appropriate deposits to the governments of the US, UK and France through clearing agreements, whereby these governments took over liabilities towards their citizens in respect of property expropriated in Poland. Eventually, the Bank Polski SA was liquidated, starting in 1951 and ending on 7 January 1952.[citation needed]
Leadership
The successive governors of the Bank of Poland were:
- Stanisław Karpiński (1924–1929)
- Władysław Wróblewski (1929–1936)
- Adam Koc (1936)
- Władysław Byrka (1936–1941)
- Bohdan Winiarski (1941–1946)
- Edward Drożniak (1946–1952)
Buildings
The Bank Polski SA operated in Warsaw from the former branch building of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, erected in 1908–1911 on a design by architect Leon Benois on the site of the former Polish mint.[4] In 1918 that building became the seat of the Polish National Loan Fund, which the Bank Polski replaced in 1924. During Nazi occupation, it was used by the Bank of Issue. It was not reconstructed following the destructions of World War II. In the 2010s, the Senator office complex was built on the footprint of the former Bank of Poland building and incorporated some of its surviving architectonic elements. It hosts the Warsaw office of Polish petrochemical company Orlen, which is headquartered in nearby Płock.
In Kraków, the Polish National Loan Fund in 1921 commissioned a new building from architect Kazimierz Wyczyński, which was completed after the latter's death in 1923 by Teodor Hoffmann . That building was used in 1940–1945 as head office of the Bank of Issue in Poland. The branch building In Siedlce was similarly commissioned by the National Loan Fund and completed in 1924.
In other localities, the Bank of Poland repurposed former branches of the Reichsbank, as in Bydgoszcz, Katowice or Toruń, or of the Russian State Bank, as in Łódź.
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Warsaw branch of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, c. 1911
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Side view of the same building, c. 1911
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Damaged façade in 1944, before partial demolition
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The ruined façade in 1965
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Remains of the building restored as part of the Senator office complex, 2015
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Aerial view of the Senator office complex, with the Bank Polski building remains on the right
See also
References
- ^ "The way of polish banks gold 1939-1942, see "1.2.3. Das belgische Gold". fhi.rg.mpg.de. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ISBN 9783486583311. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "Foundation of the polish National Bank Narodowy Bank Polski, Warschau, in 1945". Archived from the original on 2013-02-10. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
- ^ "Reduta Bank Polski - ul. Bielańska 10, Old Town". In your pocket - Warsaw.