Saint Petersburg International Commercial Bank

The Saint Petersburg International Commercial Bank (Russian: Санкт-Петербургский международный коммерческий банк) was a major bank in the Russian Empire, founded in 1869 in Saint Petersburg. By the start of the 20th century it was Russia's second private-sector bank by assets, behind the Volga-Kama Commercial Bank,^[1]^: 43 and by 1914 it still held that rank behind the Russo-Asiatic Bank.^[2]^: 722 In late 1917 following the Russian Revolution, like all other commercial banks in Russia, it was absorbed into the State Bank with no compensation to its shareholders.^[3]

Overview

The bank's charter was approved by Alexander II on 9 June 1869. The bank's fixed capital was initially determined at 5 million rubles and was distributed into 20 thousand shares of 250 rubles each. It was initially backed by German investors, especially the Berlin-based Disconto-Gesellschaft.

In 1896, the International Commercial Bank became the largest shareholder of the newly established Russo-Chinese Bank, with 15.3 percent of the initial capital. It had close links with Russia's military-industrial complex and controlled over 50 companies in 1914, including rail carriers, industrial enterprises, and insurance companies.^[4]

The bank was initially located at 6, Angliyskaya Embankment. In 1898, the bank moved to a new purpose-built head office at 58 Nevsky Prospekt on a design by architect Stanislas A. Brzhozovsky [ru].^[4] The latter property was expanded in 1912 with an additional building facing Ekaterininskaya Street.