“Open to innovation. Since 1957”

Prof. Dr. Karl Friedrich Hagenmüller and Dr. Dr. h.c. Reinhold Sellien set up the Bankakademie – the forerunner of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management – as an association in 1957. Initially located on the premises of the Gabler publishing house in Wiesbaden, its aim was to offer specialist training to bank employees and it quickly set the benchmark for this.

Prof. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Hagenmüller

Dr. Dr. h.c. Reinhold Sellien

Re-established in 1966, the association then relocated to the financial hub of Frankfurt am Main and its membership grew to include regional associations from the private banking sector and the association of cooperative banks.

The Bankakademie set the standard for professional qualifications with its very first course, which remains a core part of our further training today.

The “Bankfachwirt (IHK)” (banking services) course has its roots in the Bankakademie’s first final examination which was moved under the jurisdiction of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in 1972 and thus received industry-wide recognition. The Bankfachwirt course has expanded over time to include the Bankbetriebswirt (banking administration) and Management course – these three modules were another benchmark set by the institution and became the overarching standard for further training throughout the finance sector. A third of its students are now coming from state-owned, cooperative and private financial institutions. 

In 1989 the Bankakademie set up its own publishing house, initially focusing on publishing regularly updated course books. It went on to make a name for itself as a specialist publisher of finance texts.

The next stage of the Bankakademie’s development came in 1990, when it set up its own university – a logical response to developments in finance in Germany, with banking and finance becoming increasingly complex and globalised and investment banking more significant. Banks needed employees who not only had banking expertise but who also knew about economics, were able to understand and apply methodology and had international experience.

The HfB (Hochschule für Bankwirtschaft) combined these needs and developed a Betriebswirtschaftslehre (business administration) course which from the outset stipulated a compulsory semester abroad plus language training.

This meant that the university was initially directed exclusively at bank employees who were studying following a previous apprenticeship and working part-time.

International Advisory Services (IAS) was formed in 1992. Consultants and trainers run development finance projects in industrialised and developing countries. The IAS team has acquired a first-class reputation, particularly in micro finance consultancy. Its clients and partners consist of international donor organisations, non-governmental organisations and international finance companies. In addition to this, until spring 2009 IAS has given fund management advice to the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), the largest investment fund to finance small enterprises and housing in south-east Europe. 

The Corporate Offers & Services division was set up in 1995. As well as open seminars, it offers in-house training, outsourcing and consultancy services. The new business division was created to meet the increased demand for seminars and training courses providing knowledge and skills on specific finance topics. The division also supports companies on all aspects of professional training.  

The Frankfurt School was one of the first higher-education institutions in Germany to switch its programmes to Bachelors and Masters formats back in 2000 following the Bologna Process ruling. Courses are continually being extended and today cover all areas of finance and management.

In 2001 a subsidiary, efiport AG, was founded, focusing on e-learning tools related to banking and finance. The internet boom in the 1990s had an impact on learning and studying, and e-learning tools supplement seminars alongside learning from books and study guides.

Shortly afterwards, in 2003, the organisation entered into its first joint venture with a share in the Shanghai International Banking & Finance Institute (SIBFI). The Frankfurt School is now the majority partner.  

In 2004 the Frankfurt School was given the right to award doctorates and became an academic university. Its research work expanded and the doctoral programme was launched. The School also became increasingly international with most Masters programmes being taught exclusively in English.  

On the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation, all education and consultancy offers were brought under the same umbrella in early 2007 under the new brand of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

In 2007 the Frankfurt School also integrated the Vereinigung für Bankberufsbildung e. V (vbb), thus pooling the experience and expertise of two long-standing training and consultancy institutions in the German finance sector.

In spring 2009, Frankfurt School founded a further subsidiary: ConCap Connective Capital - an asset manager specialized in establishing, advising and managing alternative investment vehicles within development finance.