On June 1, 1953, Hessiche Landesbank Girozentrale arose from the merger of Hessische Landesbank Darmstadt Girozentrale (founded in 1940), Nassauische Landesbank Wiesbaden (founded in 1940) and Landeskreditkasse zu Kassel (founded in 1832).
In July 2011 it was reported that Helaba would pull out of the EU's bank stress tests to avoid public failure.