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EnglishFriedrich von Metzler passed away
Bankhaus Metzler and its employees mourn the loss of Friedrich von Metzler. The 81-year-old passed away on November 17th, 2024 surrounded by his family. With his integrity and entrepreneurial skills, Friedrich von Metzler shaped Bankhaus Metzler for more than five decades and made a significant contribution to its success. As a financial expert and committed philanthropist, Friedrich von Metzler was a well-known and respected figure in and outside the world of finance far beyond Germany's borders. His tireless commitment to society and his entrepreneurial vision have left a lasting impression.
“With his extraordinary commitment, vision and social responsibility, Friedrich von Metzler leaves a gap in the German banking and cultural landscape,” says Wolfgang Kirsch, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Aktiengesellschaft. “He was a passionate banker, a citizen by conviction and a Frankfurter with all his heart. His legacy will live on in the work of Bankhaus Metzler and his social commitment in the city of Frankfurt and beyond will continue in numerous initiatives and institutions. We commemorate Friedrich von Metzler and his achievements. His memory is both an honor and an obligation for Bankhaus Metzler.”
“Friedrich von Metzler was a unique personality,” adds Gerhard Wiesheu, CEO of B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Aktiengesellschaft. “He was more than just a managing director and board member. Rather, Friedrich von Metzler lived for the Bank, but at the same time never lost sight of the individual and always made time for personal discussions. He embodied the values of our company and was a role model for all of us at Bankhaus Metzler in the best sense. In him, we have lost an advisor who was always well-meaning in the highest esteem. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family and his circle of friends at this difficult time.”
Friedrich von Metzler was born in Dresden on April 23, 1943. After the end of the war, he returned to a destroyed Frankfurt with his parents and his sister Barbara. After graduating from high school in 1962, he completed his training as a foreign trade clerk at Münchmeyer & Co. in Hamburg and spent the next six years learning about the international capital market business in the banking industry in London, New York, Paris and Düsseldorf.
He joined Metzler in 1969 and became a personally liable partner in 1971 – together with his cousin Christoph von Metzler, who died in 1993. Together with his cousin, he made a decisive contribution to making the bank, which had been in uninterrupted family ownership for eleven generations, fit for the future. Learning from the bank's 350-year history and far-sighted, strategic thinking was part of his entrepreneurial DNA. When the capital market business in Germany also gained momentum from the 1970s onwards, Bankhaus Metzler was able to apply its traditional expertise in a targeted manner under his leadership and grow rapidly with the market.
In 2018, Friedrich von Metzler handed over the operational management of the bank. The shares in the bank remained in the hands of the Metzler family. Friedrich von Metzler's children Elena and Franz each own around 40 percent of the shares, while Christoph's son Leonhard von Metzler owns 20 percent. At the same time, Friedrich von Metzler remained closely associated with the bank. He traveled tirelessly, visiting clients and promoting the share as a form of capital investment. It was a matter close to his heart to make the public aware of the advantages of shares for retirement provision.
Friedrich von Metzler was equally committed to cultural and socio-political issues – but for him as a banker, he was particularly interested in financial policy issues. Under his aegis as President, cash and derivatives markets, custody, settlement and IT were bundled into one company in 1992 in the newly founded Deutsche Börse AG. This process was a key moment in Frankfurt's rise to become one of the most important international financial centers.
Friedrich von Metzler also continued the tradition of his ancestors in his social commitment to his home city of Frankfurt am Main with great pleasure and dedication. In 1998, he established the Albert and Barbara von Metzler Foundation, which primarily supports projects for children and young people. His voluntary work inspired the Bank's employees, and since then the von Metzler family and the Bank have been equally committed to the arts, culture, science and research.
Friedrich von Metzler was, among other things, Deputy Chairman of the Administration of the Senckenberg Foundation, a member of the Board of the Bürgerhospital Frankfurt am Main e.V., a member of the Administrative Board of the Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft, a member of the Administrative Committee of the Freie Deutsche Hochstift, a member of the Board of the Kunstgewerbeverein in Frankfurt e.V. and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Gesellschaft für Unternehmensgeschichte e.V.
Friedrich von Metzler has received numerous awards and honors for his social commitment. Among other things, he has been awarded the Federal Cross of Merit I Class and was made an honorary citizen of Frankfurt am Main in 2004.
At the same time, the Bank asks the media and the public to respect the privacy of the Metzler family.
Press contact
Florian Brückner
Head of Corporate Communications
+49 69 2104-4967