Bank für Kärnten und Steiermark AG, BKS

Bank für Kärnten 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 für Kärnten (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 für Kärnten 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 für Tirol und Vorarlberg AG and the Oberbank AG.