Berlin Women's Bank

Berlin 1914

Berlin Women's Bank

Location: Berlin, Germany

Opened: 1909

Closed: 1915

I've been combing through newspapers from the pre-World War I era lately, and I happened to come across this little gem.

It's from the Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, January 16, 1914 (Unfortunately, the google link function is not working):

WOMEN'S BANK CELEBRATES

Berlin's Unique Institution to Issue Financial Daily.

BERLIN, Jan. 15--The Berlin Women's Bank, which is believed to be the only bank in the world run for and by women exclusively, has completed five years of existence, and is to celebrate January 17.

A luncheon will be given with several hundred guests. One of the day's events will be the announcement that the bank has decided to issue the world's first financial daily for women. It will start with an edition of 20,000 which represents the bank's present list of shareholders and clients. The bank's assets are $250,000.

According to this article in the Milwaukee Sentinel, the Berlin Women's Bank was closed down by the authorities in April 1915.

This February 1914 New York Times article hints at some of the problems these women faced in making this effort succeed. In this particular instance, their attempt to get admission to the floor of the stock exchange was thwarted by the men and labeled a "joke."