History of Euler Hermes Kreditversicherungs-AG
Join us on a journey into our company's history, and find out about the fascinating development of Euler Hermes.
It all started with an idea: The market lacked a professional credit insurance that could protect companies from unforeseen financial risks, provide them with financial flexibility to expand their business, and thus guarantee their future business success. This is still the case today – and more so than ever.
1917: Euler Hermes Kreditversicherungs-AG was founded in Berlin as 'Hermes Kreditversicherungsbank-AG'.
1929: After the collapse of Frankfurter Allgemeinen Versicherungs-AG and the Berlin company Vaterländische Kreditversicherungs-AG, Hermes takes over their export credit and guarantee insurance business.
1932: Hermes is Germany's sole insurer in the sectors of goods insurance, installment payment insurance and export credit insurance.
1938: Hermes changes its name from "Hermes Kreditversicherungsbank AG” to "Hermes Kreditversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft”.
1946: Hermes is permitted to resume business after the end of the war.
1948: Hermes moves its headquarters to Hamburg.
1949: The Federal Republic of Germany awards Hermes – in cooperation with Deutsche Revisions- und Treuhand AG – the mandate for security and guarantee administration in Germany's export business.
1950–1960: At this time, Hermes' biggest private sector is guarantee insurance, thanks to the boom in imports/exports and in the construction industry.
1960–1970: Market conditions become tenser and competition is fiercer, resulting in increased demand for goods credits – today the main focus of Hermes' insurance business.
1970–1980: As computers become universal tools in company organization, Hermes launches computer fraud insurance services.
1984: Hermes launches a cooperation with the R+V organization.
1986: Hermes founds the IT consulting company Pylon Unternehmensberatungen GmbH as its main shareholder.
1988: The debt collection sector is hived off to form the Hermes subsidiary Delcreda. The company now renamed to Euler Hermes Forderungsmanagement GmbH provides a full range of debt collection and recovery services, including to external companies.
1989: Hermes breaks new ground in the EU domestic market by supplying foreign insurance cover, previously incorporated into domestic policies, as a separate and independent policy.
With stakes in the Netherlands company Graydon Holding N.V. and German company Bürgel Wirtschaftsinformationen GmbH & Co. KG, the company secures access to business information and to specific information on marketing and individual industries throughout Europe. In addition, Hermes expands its range of services by a holding in Disko Factoring Bank GmbH. In preparation for the launch of Europe-wide operations, Hermes is involved in the foundation of Austrian company PRISMA Kreditversicherungs-AG. All holdings are collected into Hermes Beteiligungen GmbH.
1995: Hermes founds Hermes Versicherungsbeteiligungen GmbH, collecting all insurance holdings into a single umbrella company.
1996: With effect from 1 August, Allianz Aktiengesellschaft becomes Hermes' main shareholder, holding around 90% qualified majority of capital stock. Other key shareholders: R+V Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG with a 5% holding, and Württenbergische AG Versicherungs-Beteiligungsgesellschaft with 2.5%.
1998: Hermes transfers its Swedish and Norwegian credit and guarantee insurance business to the newly founded Hermes Kreditförsäking Skandinavien AB, Stockholm.
1999: Hermes Kreditversicherungs-AG, Hamburg, and Euler, Paris, intensify their cooperation within the Allianz Group. With their expertise and comprehensive international network, they become market leaders in credit insurance and ideally complement each other.
2002: Hermes Kreditversicherungs-AG, Hamburg, joins forces with Österreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) to found Hermes Südosteuropa Versicherungsholding GmbH (HSEE) in Vienna, a centre of expertise for the South-East European region.
2002: The operations of the two credit insurance companies in the Allianz Group, -Euler, Paris, and Hermes, Hamburg, are merged into the new holding company Euler & Hermes S. A., headquartered in Paris. The merger creates the largest company in the world in this specialist sector.
2003: The Holding Company in Paris is renamed to Euler Hermes S.A.. on April 23. Worldwide the name 'Euler Hermes' will be taken over by all companies of the group till the end of 2003.
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