Michael Frank (second from left) and colleagues at the stock market

The founding of the German Empire in 1871 had made it possible for Michael Frank and his brothers to leave Landau in the Palatinate and move to more prosperous regions. In 1872 Michael’s brother Jacob founded a banking business bearing the family name in Frankfurt, while his other brother, Léon, together with his business partner Willy Wolfsohn, founded the bank Frank, Wolfsohn & Co in Paris. Michael moved to Frankfurt in 1879 and became a securities trader on the stock exchange. In 1901 he opened the private bank Michael Frank on Frankfurt’s Hochstrasse