The Reichsbank, which will serve as the…

The Reichsbank, which will serve as the central bank of Germany until 1945, is founded on January 1, 1876, as a privately owned central bank of Prussia, under close control by the Reich government; its first president is Hermann von Dechend.

Before unification in 1871, Germany had thirty-one central banks—the Notenbanken (note banks).

Each of the independent states issued their own money.

A law passed in 1870 had forbidden the formation of further central banks.

A draft banking law, introduced in the Reichstag (the German parliament) in 1874, had been passed the following year after several changes and compromises.

Despite the creation of the Reichsbank, four of the Notenbanken—Baden, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg—will continue to exist until 1914.