Banks in Lviv

Banks in Lviv covers the history of banking in Lviv, Ukraine. Banking emerged during the Middle Ages and actively developed after Galicia became part of the Habsburg Empire. Initially, loans secured by property were provided by wealthy burghers. Later, the first credit institutions emerged under the largest Lviv confessions, which were eventually replaced by classical banking organizations. During the Austrian period, Lviv's banking system played an important role in the development of regional railway transport and oil production. Additionally, many banks commissioned the construction of monumental buildings for their headquarters and branches.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Austria-Hungary had developed a specific financial system model in which banks were closely linked to industry and railway transport. This model resembled the German financial system, as it was influenced by German financial culture, but it also had its own peculiarities. In the multi-ethnic empire, there were several interconnected financial networks with their own centers in Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Krakow, and Lviv. The entire banking system of Galicia depended heavily on loans from the Austro-Hungarian Bank and foreign banks that operated in Lviv.

The First and Second World Wars caused significant damage to Lviv's banking sector. In 1939-1940, after the annexation of Western Ukraine by Soviet authorities, all commercial banks in Galicia were liquidated. During the Soviet period, regional branches of USSR state banks operated in Lviv, and the first commercial banks were opened in 1990. After Ukraine became independent, banks of various forms of ownership began operating in the city: private, state, and foreign (both local and all-Ukrainian). Lviv's banking system was negatively affected by the financial and economic crises of 1997-1998, 2008-2009, and 2014-2015.