(Bloomberg) -- Friedrich von Metzler, who led 350-year-old German private bank B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Aktiengesellschaft for almost 50 years, died on Sunday at age 81.
Von Metzler died in Frankfurt surrounded by his family, the bank said. No cause of death was given.
“He was a passionate banker, a citizen by conviction, and a Frankfurter at heart,” said Wolfgang Kirsch, chairman of the supervisory board at B. Metzler.
Von Metzler was born in Dresden on April 23, 1943, and moved to Frankfurt after the end of the Second World War. After finishing high school, he trained as a foreign trade clerk at Münchmeyer and Co. in Hamburg, and worked at banks in London, New York, Paris and Düsseldorf for about six years, steeping himself in the international capital markets business.
After joining his family’s bank in 1969, he became a partner in 1971 and was part of the lender’s management until 2018. Von Metzler was involved in various charitable projects and established the Albert and Barbara von Metzler Foundation in 1998, which primarily supports projects for children and young people.
Von Metzler’s children, Elena and Franz, each still hold 40% of the shares in the family’s private bank.
“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,” said Gerhard Wieshau, a spokesman for the management board of B. Metzler.
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