In 1808, the Chamber of Commerce was formed out of these Deputies. The stock exchange, which had been established 223 years previously as a private institution operated by a number of merchants, was brought under the umbrella of the Chamber of Commerce. It thus became a public-sector institution.

Trading in government bonds began on the Frankfurt exchange at the end of the eighteenth century. In 1779, Bankhaus Bethmann placed the first bond denominated in the millions for the German Emperor in Vienna. To be in a position to arrange this huge sum, for the first time this bank issued so-called fractional bonds (Partialobligationen) in Frankfurt. Anyone with funds could buy these securities at the bank. The investor thereby actually acquired part of the overall bond issue as well as the right to a share in the regular interest earnings. This instrument of capital mediation that was introduced by Bankhaus Bethmann made it possible for the Frankfurt banks to arrange large bond issues in the future.

With the advancement of Bankhaus Rothschild in Frankfurt to the leading capital intermediary among the European dynasties, the city developed into a centre for international capital with one of the major international stock markets besides London and Paris. The restricted space at the location in Haus Braunfels became less and less appropriate in view of the importance of the stock exchange. For this reason, in the mid-nineteenth century it built its own prestigious building located near the Paulskirche on the Paulsplatz. The building was based on the plans of the Frankfurt architect Friedrich Peiper and opened its doors in 1843.

The first common share – a participating certificate of the Austrian National Bank (Oesterreichische Nationalbank) – had been traded in Frankfurt back in 1820. The main focus of trading on the Frankfurt exchange, however, was still on bonds. In contrast to the other large European stock exchanges, the Frankfurt market was initially cool to the ever more popular shares in numerous stock corporations. Until 1850, the Frankfurt stock exchange primarily developed into a centre for trading in secure government bonds and funds. This specialisation lent Frankfurt the reputation of 'solid Frankfurt'. Frankfurt became the 'gateway for capital exports' because based in this market, foreign bonds were additionally also placed on the other European stock exchanges.

The new exchange building was opened in 1879. In their plans for the building, the well-known Frankfurt architects Heinrich Burnitz and Oskar Sommer succeeded in creating an extremely harmonious combination of functionality and prestige. In addition to the main railway station and the Old Opera, the New Stock Exchange is still one of the most important Frankfurt structures dating from the Wilhelmian era.

Thanks to the city's good international contacts, during the years after 1871, when Berlin was the capital of the newly founded German Empire and became host to the country's most important stock exchange, Frankfurt was nevertheless able to assert its international position and its role as a central stock exchange. At the end of the 19th century, the absolute necessity of adapting to the general economic situation in the country was recognised in Frankfurt. In order not to endanger its prestige as an economic capital, and contrary to former endeavors, Frankfurt altered its economic policy and strove to attract industry and intensified share trading activities. This development in the direction of a true stock exchange met the challenge of the Berlin Stock Exchange's dominance. The Frankfurt exchange could now offer companies, primarily located in southern Germany, an alternative to Berlin for the raising of capital. The 29 German stock exchanges were only subject to a uniform organisation under the Stock Exchange Act of 1896. In addition, the previous local provisions applicable in Frankfurt gave way to a nationwide arrangement that has remained largely in effect down to this day.

The internationally oriented FWB® Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (the Frankfurt Stock Exchange) was very hard hit by World War I and its consequences. Foreign shares and bonds were sold by German investors out of fear of instrumentalisation by the warring states; freed up capital was invested mostly in government bonds. By the end of the war, all foreign securities had disappeared from German exchange lists, as a result of which Frankfurt lost its standing as an international stock exchange. By the end of the war, the international contacts of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange had been lost. Inflation set in and reached its first peak in 1923. The stock exchange saw unprecedented losses in securities of monetary value. By contrast, demand for stocks as speculation objects sharply increased. In October 1929, however, stock exchange prices fell dramatically and 25 October 1929 made history as “Black Friday”. The world economic crisis ruled the following years. The economy only began to restabilise in 1932.

Following the collapse of the Nazi regime in 1945, the exchange initially remained closed for six months. It was reopened in September 1945 under the protectorate of the US military government as one of the first German stock exchanges.

It was only following the currency reform of 1948 and the growing consolidation of the German economy that the Frankfurt Stock Exchange gradually recovered its old significance. In 1949 the Frankfurt stock exchange official trading starts up again. In the same year, the securities and clearing deposit bank Frankfurter Kassenverein is founded as a stock corporation, whose most significant task is the necessary settlement and clearance of securities after the war.

In 1953 four currency exchanges are opened, for the US Dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and currencies of the European Payments Union. Beginning in 1956, the purchase of foreign securities was again permitted in Germany. Frankfurt was thus able to return to its tradition of international business and resume its leading position in Germany. The stock exchanges played an important role as capital intermediaries for the country's post-war reconstruction. Through their activity, they were also decisively involved in the subsequent 'economic miracle' in the 1950s and 1960s and in the Federal Republic of Germany's achievement in becoming a major economic force in the world.

The Main Trading Hall of the exchange building at Rahmhof (today’s Börsenplatz) in the centre of Frankfurt is reopened after rebuilding in 1957.

In 1969 the digital age arrives at the Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse. Traders can now process securities transactions electronically by BÖGA, a computer system to process stock exchange transactions One year after, in the next step exchange member firms are now able to interact with the exchange computer via telex.

Börsen-Daten-Zentrale GmbH (BDZ) is founded in 1970. As the data centre of the Frankfurt stock exchange, BDZ is one of the precursors of Deutsche Börse Systems AG. In the same year Deutscher Auslandskassenverein AG (AKV), one of the precursors of today’s Clearstream International S.A., is founded by the regional securities clearing and deposit banks.