Skive Bank – Skive Discount Bank

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Skive Bank was the commercial bank in the area from its opening in 1858 until 1928, when it collapsed. Skive Diskontobank then took over until 1971, when Diskontobanken merged with Provinsbanken in Aarhus.

The start

Skive Bank opened on January 2, 1858 and for the first few years had an office at the Munksgaard law firm on Torvet.

The bank started modestly. In the beginning, there was only one banking day a week, which could even be canceled if the bank’s management was busy elsewhere.

In 1882, the bank moved to premises in Østergade 2, where it rented premises at Olesens Gård. However, it became too cramped as the city and the bank grew. Between 1857 and 1906, the bank’s turnover grew from DKK 400,000 to DKK 92,000,000.

Bank construction 1912-1914

In order to build something bigger, 3 small properties on the corner of Nørregade and Østergade were purchased. Architect Erik V. Lind offered himself with a proposal in an imposing neoclassical style, which went down well with the board, the estimated construction cost was 96,000 DKK.

The foundation stone was laid on August 7, 1912 and the topping-out ceremony was held in December 1912. It took all of 1913 to complete the construction and furnish the premises. The inauguration took place on January 5, 1914.

The bank building was impressively beautiful – Folkebladet compared it to a princely palace. Almost all interior woodwork – doors, wall panels, counters, furniture and other fixtures were made of solid mahogany. The floors were decorated with beautiful mosaics. The bank had hired the sculptor couple Elias and Voldborg Ølsgaard from Aarhus to decorate the building inside and out.

There were stucco ornaments with nature motifs and ceiling decorations with flower garlands. On the outside, there were two large decorations: the frontispiece facing Østergade was decorated with a relief of the goddess of agriculture, Ceres, holding a seal, on one side and Mercury, the god of trade, holding a staff and money bag, on the other. Above the entrance on the corner of Nørregade and Østergade was a decoration with a tall basket full of flowers. On either side of the basket stood young men – one with a money box, the other with a check.

Krak and bank scandal

In the 1920s, the bank got into big trouble. It had become heavily involved in a number of local Skive companies with poor finances and was losing large amounts of money. During a bank inspection in 1925, the difficult situation was pointed out and significantly higher provisions and write-offs were demanded. The management had taken note of this, but had been unable to implement it. In 1928, the bank inspectorate visited the bank again and, after reviewing the bank’s loans, demanded that write-offs be made quickly on the largest exposures. A new inspection in September 1928 found that all the bank’s reserves and the entire shareholding had been lost. When Privatbanken in Copenhagen went into suspension of payments, Skive Bank was dragged down with it. On October 1, 1928, the bank had to stop its payments and the entire region was threatened with financial disaster.

In shareholder circles, there had been growing dissatisfaction with the bank management. The dissatisfied shareholders found it unjustifiable, for example, that the bank’s largest debtor, conservative mayor Michael Nielsen, had a seat on the bank council. The conservative city councilor, former fire director Eriksen Noer, had been one of the harshest critics and pushed for a judicial decision on liability. This caused a split within the conservatives. Eriksen Noer resigned from the conservatives’ city council group and the mayor resigned from the post allegedly due to health problems.

The legal aftermath did not end until the Supreme Court in January 1932, where bank director Fr. Petersen was sentenced to 3 months in prison, deputy bank director M. Mortensen was fined DKK 500, lawyer Bøttern and senior lawyer Siboni (the bank’s executive committee) were each fined DKK 3000. Attorney Berg was sentenced to 40 days in prison and lost his license. Wholesaler Michael Nielsen was sentenced to 60 days in prison because he had fraudulently obtained credit, even though his real economic status did not entitle him to it.

The bank could not be reconstructed, but now Skive City Council’s cash and accounts committee took action. They called a meeting, and within 50 days, a new bank – Skive Diskontobank – was successfully established on the ruins of Skive Bank.

Skive Discount Bank

20. on November 1928, Skive’s new bank opened in premises rented from Skive Bank’s liquidation estate, and the bank got off to a good start. In 1933, things went so well that the general meeting approved the construction of a large new building on the neighboring properties Nørregade 2-6, which the bank had purchased.

An architectural competition was announced between the two major Skive architects Erik V. Lind and H. Toft Hansen. The judging committee, which consisted of out-of-town architects, chose Toft Hansen’s proposal as the best.

In 1933-1934, the building along Nørregade, which housed two shops on the ground floor and two large apartments on the first and second floors, was built. The impressive entrance on the corner from the original bank building was integrated into the 2-storey building so that the entire Nørregade 2-6 and Østergade 1 building became a coherent unit. On this occasion, the sculptural work at the entrance disappeared.

Remodeling in the fifties

In 1953, the interior of the bank building was renovated by architect Toft Hansen. The old woodwork was replaced with Cuba mahogany. The walls were painted and new floors were laid.

In 1956, the bank got a new entrance facade designed by architects Toft Hansen and Vind. The high staircase disappeared and the building was opened up on both sides with windows. The exterior was clad with Bornholm ceramic tiles, giving it its own unique look, unlike the buildings along Nørregade and Østergade.

Demolition and new construction 1972 – 1974

in 1968, the Olesens Gård block, which was located opposite Skive Diskontobank and the neighboring Hotel Royal, was demolished. In 1969, the bank’s neighbor on Østergade – Hotel Royal – was demolished.

At the general meeting in the spring of 1970, the board of directors presented plans to demolish the bank building and build a new bank. The reasoning was that building an extension to the old bank would cause problems, and building a new one would be more beautiful rather than more expensive.

It was decided to keep the building in Nørregade, demolish the old bank and build a new one based on drawings by architect Erling Vind. The new bank building was designed in the so-called “international style”, which was said to be inspired by Danmarks Nationalbank in Copenhagen.

In 1971, Diskontobanken merged with Provinsbanken in Aarhus. In 1972, the old bank was gone and on May 16, 1974, Provinsbanken’s Skive branch opened in a new bank building on the corner of Nørregade and Østergade.

Sources

Forfatter vedelslund