Bank für Kärnten und Steiermark AG, BKS#
Bank fuer Kaernten und Steiermark AG, BKS, a major regional bank in the south of Austria, quoted on the stock exchange and covering all types of banking services. Despite its regional character, the bank engages in international activities, especially in the Adriatic and Alpine area.
In 1922, Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank Munich and Bankhaus
A. v. Ehrfeld entered into a limited partnership, and in 1928 the
Bank fuer Kaernten (Bank for Carinthia) was established in the form of
a joint company limited by shares. The bank helped rebuild the
regional economy during the 1950s and 1960s and continued to expand
its branch network and customer service in the 1970s and 1980s. In
1983 the bank´s name was changed to Bank fuer Kaernten und
Steiermark AG (Bank for Carinthia and Styria), and a branch bank was
founded in Graz, the capital of the province of Styria. The bank
employs more than 600 staff, and the 1998 balance sheet total amounted
to ATS 39.1 bn. It has 36 branch offices in the provinces of Carinthia
and Styria and a branch in Vienna. It is also represented in Zagreb
(Croatia) and a leasing subsidiary in Lublijana (Slovenia). Since 1997
the bank has considerably increased its cooperation with the Bank
fuer Tirol und Vorarlberg AG and the Oberbank AG.