Bank Stern is a financial advisory firm that engages in

investment banking Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by und ...

family office A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50–100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer ...

, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients. Its principal executive offices are in Paris.

History

Antoine Jacob Stern and his brother

Léopold Stern Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

(1810-1846) create in June 1842 the investment bank ''A. J. Stern & Cie'', at 33

rue Laffitte The Rue Laffitte is a street in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, located near the Metro stations Richelieu - Drouot and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. History This street was created in 1771 between the Boulevard des Italiens and the Rue de Provence. ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to form one of the ten main investment banks in Europe with their cousins who formed in 1844 the ''Stern Brothers'' in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In the 20th century the Stern family was a shareholder of the

Banque de France The Bank of France ( ) is the national central bank for France within the Eurosystem. It was the French central bank between 1800 and 1998, issuing the French franc. It does not translate its name to English, and thus calls itself ''Banque de ...

and was one of the main banking families in Paris with

Lazard Lazard Inc. (formerly known as Lazard Ltd and Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It i ...

and

Rothschilds The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...

in France. In 1977-1978, the

Banque Rothschild The Banque Rothschild, formally known as ''de Rothschild Frères'' () until 1967, was the family-controlled bank of the Rothschild banking family of France. It was established in 1817, expropriated by Vichy France in 1940, returned to the Roth ...

took over 48% of the shares of Bank Stern. During the 1980s, Edouard Stern took control of the family bank and revamped the bank, expanding its activity in financial markets, as well as in mergers and acquisitions. In 1985, Stern sold the bank for 300 million francs ($60 million in 2005 dollars) to Lebanese investors and become Bank Pallas-Stern. Thanks to a clause attached to the contract, Stern got to keep the copyright over his last name Stern. Immediately after the sale went through, Stern started a new bank, with a similar name and business profile, drawing in many of his former clients. He sold this second institution for an estimated 1.75 billion francs in 1988 to the

Swiss Bank Corporation Swiss Bank Corporation (French language, French: ''Société de banque suisse''; German language, German: ''Schweizerischer Bankverein'') was a Swiss Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company located in Switzerland. Prio ...

(SBS, which will later merge with UBS to form UBS S.A.). As a result of these transactions, Stern shot up the ranks of the richest families in France, occupying the 38th spot, according to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Bank Banks based in Paris French companies established in 1842 Banks established in 1842 Stern family (banking)