"Fonciére" general insurance institute
Insurance Institute of Pest (1864-1879)
Foncière Insurance Institute of Pest (1879-1920)
Foncière General Insurance Institute (1920-1948)
Foncière, or its predecessor Pesti Biztosító, was one of the most important insurance companies in Hungary for eight decades from its foundation in 1864 until its nationalisation in 1948, and a market leader from the 1930s. As a general insurer, it was active in all classes of elementary insurance as well as life insurance. The company was originally founded by investors from Vienna and Pest, and in 1879 French capital appeared in the company - it was then named Foncière - and in 1920 the Italian Riunione Adriatica di Sicurtá - Adriai Biztosító in Hungary - became its main shareholder.
The Pesti Insurance Institute, also known as the Second Hungarian General Insurance Company by its contemporaries, was founded with the participation of Viennese and Pest investors and the Hungarian aristocracy. At the inaugural general meeting in October 1864, Count György Andrássy was elected president, a position he held for six years. In addition to the aristocracy, it was the merchant bourgeoisie of Pest who acquired the largest share of ownership. Andrássy was succeeded in the chair by Frigyes Kochmeister, who was also president of the Pesti Stock Exchange from its foundation until the turn of the century, also opened in 1864, and the first vice-president of the insurance company was Manó Gozsdu, a lawyer, politician and member of the upper house of parliament of Balkan Czincari origin.
The first shareholders saw themselves more as bond investors than company founders, and at the general meeting there was a heated debate about whether the company should pay 5% interest per year on the HUF 3 million share capital. Bernát Ferenc Weisz, a "grand old man" of Hungarian insurance and later director of the company, finally talked the shareholders out of this. The company finally started operations in May 1865 with 11 head offices, 4 foreign (Vienna, Trieste, Prague and Brno) head offices and nearly a thousand agents. Initially, the fire, ice and transport sectors were covered, followed by the life sector from 1868 and the glass insurance sector from 1870.
Source: MABISZ Library.
In the mid-1860s, in the midst of the fever of founding new companies, most of the new insurance companies born together with Pesti Insurance failed in the so-called "small crisis" of 1869, but at the latest four years later, during the "Great Crash". Pesti Biztosító avoided this fate thanks to the attraction of French capital, which in those years was strongly oriented towards Central Europe. French capital's interest in the Hungarian insurance sector peaked in 1879. In that year, Union Générale founded the Hungarian-French Insurance Company, which, although it was first owned by Erste Magyar and then by Foncière, remained an important player in the Hungarian market. Also at the end of 1879, the Foncière General Insurance Company was founded by banking groups in Paris and Vienna specifically to acquire Pesti Biztosító, and a few weeks later it merged with the troubled Pesti Biztosító. The new company, now called Foncière Pesti Biztosító, began operations on 1 January 1880. The company was officially the successor to Foncière, so the date of its foundation in the compasses is 1879, but the new company actually took over the 15-year-old staff, organisation and management of Pesti Biztosító. The merger proved to be a success. The company was the most important of the Pest-based insurers until the turn of the century, following the First Hungarian.
Source: MABISZ Library.
The whole insurance sector was shaken by the world war, Trianon and hyperinflation. Foncière was no exception. In 1920, the Trieste-based Riunione Adriatica di Sicurta - RAS until 2006 - became Foncière's main shareholder. The Italian company had been operating in Hungary under the name Adriai Biztosító since its foundation in 1838. It was at this time that Foncière finally dropped the name Pesti from its predecessor. The consolidation was successful. The company was strengthened, took over the shares of Magyar-Francia from Erste Magyar and, after the company was merged in 1937, became the market leader. Foncière's story, like that of most Hungarian insurance companies, ended with nationalisation.
Throughout the eight decades, the operational management of the insurance company has been concentrated in the hands of two families. Vilmos Schön (later Sarbó) remained CEO from 1867 to 1898 and Chairman of the Board until his death in 1906. His son Leó Schön was joint managing director with Mór Reich (Ribáry) from 1898. Mór Ribáry remained with Foncière for 54 years, until his death, from 1916 to 1927 as sole CEO. His nephew, Frigyes Ribáry, was a director of the company for 12 years from 1926 until 1916. But other members of the Schön (Sarbó) and Reich (Ribáry) families are also to be found among the insurance company's officers: chief physician, legal adviser, Budapest general agent and member of the supervisory board.
Source: MABISZ Library.
After the company was dissolved without legal succession after nationalisation, its memory is preserved only by a few beautiful bonds and a beautiful palace in Budapest. The insurance company had its offices in Sas Street and remained there until the end of the 1870s, but in the late 1870s the company saw the development of Sugár Street, now Andrássy Avenue, as a great investment opportunity. The construction of Sugár út and the demolition of the buildings on the road began in 1872, and the road was opened to traffic by the Budapest Public Works Council in 1876. By that time, however, only 3 four-storey houses, 19 three-storey houses, 8 two-storey houses, 1 one-storey house and 8 villas had been built alongside the nearly 2.5-kilometre-long road. Construction gained momentum from 1880 onwards, with 29 plots sold that year, 18 in 1881 and 37 in 1882, until by 1884 all but one plot had been sold and all but one had been built on or was under construction. In this wave of construction, the four-storey eclectic tenement Foncière was built on the corner of today's Andrássy út and Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, designed by Adolf Feszty. The former huge dome of the palace was destroyed in the Second World War, but the statue of Hermes - a work by Gyula Szász - has been back on the front of the building since 1990.
Csury Jenő Jr. - Marosi Imre 1931: The history of Hungarian insurance. Budapest.
Gyula Horváth - Gábor Tamás 2019: Foncère Pesti Biztosító. Insurance and Risk. (6.) 2. 104-107.
Gábor Tamás 2019a: The development of the insurance market in Hungary from the mid-19th century to the First World War. Insurance and risk. (6.) 1. 14-49.
Gábor Tamás 2019b: From war to crisis, from crisis to war. Insurance and risk. (6.) 2. 52-95.
About the start of the operation: the Hungarian Gazette (2.) 11 May 1865.
Founded on 17 October 1864.
Date of cessation: 1948
Founders: key executives elected at the founding general assembly in 1864 Count György Andrássy, chairman Manó Gozsdu, vice-chairman Baron Frigyes Kochmeister (president of the Pesti Commodity and Stock Exchange), member of the board of trustees Bernát Ferenc Weisz (creator of the foundation plan), member of the board of directors
Decisive leaders:
1864-1893 | Baron Frigyes Kochmeister, member of the board of trustees (1864-67), vice-president (1867-69 and 1880-90), president (1870-80 and 1890-93) |
1867-1906 | Schön (from 1885 Sarbó) Vilmos Schön, General Manager (1867-1898), Chairman of the Board (1898-1906) |
1906-1927 | Reich (from 1902 Ribári, from 1914 Ribáry) Mór, General Manager |
Main activity: from 1864 fire, ice and cargo insurance, from 1868 life insurance, then glass insurance, from around 1900 motor vehicle breakage and liability insurance
Main products are not set
Seats:
From 1874 | 10 Sas (formerly Two Eagles) Street Contrary to popular belief, the Foncière Palace on the corner of Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út and Andrássy út was never the company's headquarters |
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: by Gábor Tamás
Founded on 17 October 1864.
Founders: key executives elected at the founding general assembly in 1864 Count György Andrássy, chairman Manó Gozsdu, vice-chairman Baron Frigyes Kochmeister (president of the Pesti Commodity and Stock Exchange), member of the board of trustees Bernát Ferenc Weisz (creator of the foundation plan), member of the board of directors
Decisive leaders:
1864-1893 | Baron Frigyes Kochmeister, member of the board of trustees (1864-67), vice-president (1867-69 and 1880-90), president (1870-80 and 1890-93) |
1867-1906 | Schön (from 1885 Sarbó) Vilmos Schön, General Manager (1867-1898), Chairman of the Board (1898-1906) |
1906-1927 | Reich (from 1902 Ribári, from 1914 Ribáry) Mór, General Manager |
Main activity: from 1864 fire, ice and cargo insurance, from 1868 life insurance, then glass insurance, from around 1900 motor vehicle breakage and liability insurance
Main products are not set
Seats:
From 1874 | 10 Sas (formerly Two Eagles) Street Contrary to popular belief, the Foncière Palace on the corner of Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út and Andrássy út was never the company's headquarters |
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: by Gábor Tamás
"Fonciére" general insurance institute
Insurance Institute of Pest (1864-1879)
Foncière Insurance Institute of Pest (1879-1920)
Foncière General Insurance Institute (1920-1948)
Foncière, or its predecessor Pesti Biztosító, was one of the most important insurance companies in Hungary for eight decades from its foundation in 1864 until its nationalisation in 1948, and a market leader from the 1930s. As a general insurer, it was active in all classes of elementary insurance as well as life insurance. The company was originally founded by investors from Vienna and Pest, and in 1879 French capital appeared in the company - it was then named Foncière - and in 1920 the Italian Riunione Adriatica di Sicurtá - Adriai Biztosító in Hungary - became its main shareholder.
The Pesti Insurance Institute, also known as the Second Hungarian General Insurance Company by its contemporaries, was founded with the participation of Viennese and Pest investors and the Hungarian aristocracy. At the inaugural general meeting in October 1864, Count György Andrássy was elected president, a position he held for six years. In addition to the aristocracy, it was the merchant bourgeoisie of Pest who acquired the largest share of ownership. Andrássy was succeeded in the chair by Frigyes Kochmeister, who was also president of the Pesti Stock Exchange from its foundation until the turn of the century, also opened in 1864, and the first vice-president of the insurance company was Manó Gozsdu, a lawyer, politician and member of the upper house of parliament of Balkan Czincari origin.
The first shareholders saw themselves more as bond investors than company founders, and at the general meeting there was a heated debate about whether the company should pay 5% interest per year on the HUF 3 million share capital. Bernát Ferenc Weisz, a "grand old man" of Hungarian insurance and later director of the company, finally talked the shareholders out of this. The company finally started operations in May 1865 with 11 head offices, 4 foreign (Vienna, Trieste, Prague and Brno) head offices and nearly a thousand agents. Initially, the fire, ice and transport sectors were covered, followed by the life sector from 1868 and the glass insurance sector from 1870.
Source: MABISZ Library.
In the mid-1860s, in the midst of the fever of founding new companies, most of the new insurance companies born together with Pesti Insurance failed in the so-called "small crisis" of 1869, but at the latest four years later, during the "Great Crash". Pesti Biztosító avoided this fate thanks to the attraction of French capital, which in those years was strongly oriented towards Central Europe. French capital's interest in the Hungarian insurance sector peaked in 1879. In that year, Union Générale founded the Hungarian-French Insurance Company, which, although it was first owned by Erste Magyar and then by Foncière, remained an important player in the Hungarian market. Also at the end of 1879, the Foncière General Insurance Company was founded by banking groups in Paris and Vienna specifically to acquire Pesti Biztosító, and a few weeks later it merged with the troubled Pesti Biztosító. The new company, now called Foncière Pesti Biztosító, began operations on 1 January 1880. The company was officially the successor to Foncière, so the date of its foundation in the compasses is 1879, but the new company actually took over the 15-year-old staff, organisation and management of Pesti Biztosító. The merger proved to be a success. The company was the most important of the Pest-based insurers until the turn of the century, following the First Hungarian.
Source: MABISZ Library.
The whole insurance sector was shaken by the world war, Trianon and hyperinflation. Foncière was no exception. In 1920, the Trieste-based Riunione Adriatica di Sicurta - RAS until 2006 - became Foncière's main shareholder. The Italian company had been operating in Hungary under the name Adriai Biztosító since its foundation in 1838. It was at this time that Foncière finally dropped the name Pesti from its predecessor. The consolidation was successful. The company was strengthened, took over the shares of Magyar-Francia from Erste Magyar and, after the company was merged in 1937, became the market leader. Foncière's story, like that of most Hungarian insurance companies, ended with nationalisation.
Throughout the eight decades, the operational management of the insurance company has been concentrated in the hands of two families. Vilmos Schön (later Sarbó) remained CEO from 1867 to 1898 and Chairman of the Board until his death in 1906. His son Leó Schön was joint managing director with Mór Reich (Ribáry) from 1898. Mór Ribáry remained with Foncière for 54 years, until his death, from 1916 to 1927 as sole CEO. His nephew, Frigyes Ribáry, was a director of the company for 12 years from 1926 until 1916. But other members of the Schön (Sarbó) and Reich (Ribáry) families are also to be found among the insurance company's officers: chief physician, legal adviser, Budapest general agent and member of the supervisory board.
Source: MABISZ Library.
After the company was dissolved without legal succession after nationalisation, its memory is preserved only by a few beautiful bonds and a beautiful palace in Budapest. The insurance company had its offices in Sas Street and remained there until the end of the 1870s, but in the late 1870s the company saw the development of Sugár Street, now Andrássy Avenue, as a great investment opportunity. The construction of Sugár út and the demolition of the buildings on the road began in 1872, and the road was opened to traffic by the Budapest Public Works Council in 1876. By that time, however, only 3 four-storey houses, 19 three-storey houses, 8 two-storey houses, 1 one-storey house and 8 villas had been built alongside the nearly 2.5-kilometre-long road. Construction gained momentum from 1880 onwards, with 29 plots sold that year, 18 in 1881 and 37 in 1882, until by 1884 all but one plot had been sold and all but one had been built on or was under construction. In this wave of construction, the four-storey eclectic tenement Foncière was built on the corner of today's Andrássy út and Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, designed by Adolf Feszty. The former huge dome of the palace was destroyed in the Second World War, but the statue of Hermes - a work by Gyula Szász - has been back on the front of the building since 1990.
Csury Jenő Jr. - Marosi Imre 1931: The history of Hungarian insurance. Budapest.
Gyula Horváth - Gábor Tamás 2019: Foncère Pesti Biztosító. Insurance and Risk. (6.) 2. 104-107.
Gábor Tamás 2019a: The development of the insurance market in Hungary from the mid-19th century to the First World War. Insurance and risk. (6.) 1. 14-49.
Gábor Tamás 2019b: From war to crisis, from crisis to war. Insurance and risk. (6.) 2. 52-95.
About the start of the operation: the Hungarian Gazette (2.) 11 May 1865.