Adomas Prūsas

Adomas Prūsas (23 November 1878 – 6 April 1939) was a Lithuanian banker. He was one of the founders and the first managing director of the Trade and Industry Bank, the first Lithuanian commercial bank. He was the deputy governor of the Bank of Lithuania from 1922 to 1926.

Born to a family of poor farmers, Prūsas obtained only primary education (he later passed gymnasium graduation exams). In 1894, he moved to Saint Petersburg searching for a better job. In 1903, he obtained a job at the local branch of the and its Committee on Savings and Loan and Industrial Partnerships. Later he also joined the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Empire. In these roles, Prūsas dealt with credit unions and land banks for about 15 years. After the October Revolution, he refused to join the People's Commissariat for Finance and returned to Lithuania.

In Vilnius, he worked on organizing the Trade and Industry Bank and became its first managing director. The bank financed various Lithuanian companies, many of which were connected to Martynas Yčas and Prūsas. In 1922, Prūsas moved to the newly established Bank of Lithuania where he became deputy of Vladas Jurgutis. He helped introduce the Lithuanian litas, the national currency of Lithuania. Due to mismanagement, the Trade and Industry Bank became insolvent in 1924 and officially bankrupt in 1927. For his role in the bank, Prūsas was demoted to the director of the Marijampolė branch of the Bank of Lithuania in October 1926. He was tried for criminal negligence. The case was concluded by a district court only in March 1936. Initially, he was acquitted but found guilty on appeal. Jail time was avoided due to the expired statute of limitations.

Biography

Early life Adomas Prūsas was born on 23 November 1878 to poor farmers Elijas Prūsas and Apolonija Prūsienė in the village of , then part of the Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire.