The bank was former in 1873 by merger of Edouard Gloxin & Cie (est. 1852), Edmond Klose & Cie, and Charles Staehling & Cie (est. 1839[4]). The architect of the merger was Marie-Louis Valentin, who worked at the Klose bank and led the merged entity until 1904.[5]
Under the German Empire, the bank limited its activity to Strasbourg. After World War I and Alsace's return to France, it expanded by opening its first branches in Haguenau, Wissembourg, and Colmar, then others adding up to a network of 20 branches outside Strasbourg by 1923.[6]: 4
The Banque de Strasbourg entered a period of financial stress in the late 1920s, and was reorganized in 1933 with support from the Société Générale Alsacienne de Banque (SGAB).[6]: 5
In 1939, the bank's leadership relocated to Périgueux. German forces in annexed Alsace appointed Richard Betz as banking commissioner, with wide powers to reorganize the local banking sector in the German interest. Betz decided to liquidate the Banque de Strasbourg in December 1940. By liberation in 1944, the process was too advanced to be reversed. The liquidation process was protracted in the postwar era, and the Banque de Strasbourg eventually closed in 1963.[6]: 6
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