"For a long time the debate on sovereign wealth funds focussed on their hypothetical risks. Now the discussion has become more objective and a more balanced view is prevailing," said Manfred Weber, Chief Executive of the Association of German Banks, against the backdrop of the resolution on sovereign wealth funds adopted today by the European Parliament. more ...

The owners of Düsseldorfer Hypothekenbank have decided to temporarily transfer the bank to the Deposit Protection Fund run by the Association of German Banks. A new owner will be found for the bank in an orderly procedure. This will allow it to overcome the difficulties it has run into in the current tense market environment. more ...

The current situation on the capital markets shows the close market interdependence created by global financial market integration. It has become clear that regional developments can, in themselves, have serious global consequences. Market participants, supervisors and lawmakers must face up to this fact. In the present paper, the Association of German Banks takes a closer look at the real and purported weaknesses in the market environment and the regulatory framework that are currently under discussion. It does so in the hope that, on the one hand, necessary corrective measures can be taken swiftly and that, on the other hand, hasty conclusions that would be unhelpful and even counter-productive may be avoided.
Position: ''Lessons from the financial turmoil'' [PDF - 460 KB]

The Association of German Banks welcomes the FSF recommendations for enhancing the resilience of financial markets and the action plan based on these that was adopted by the G7 finance ministers. "Work is on the right track. I believe that particularly the G7's efforts not to aggravate the currently still difficult market situation by taking excessive ad hoc measures are appropriate", said Manfred Weber, the Association's Chief Executive Officer, in Berlin. more ...

"The private banks share the view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that global economic growth will slow down in 2008 and 2009", said Manfred Weber, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of German Banks, today. The problems in the financial markets, as well as the massive increase in the prices of commodities and foodstuffs, inevitably had a negative effect on the pace of growth. more ...

The Association of German Banks welcomes it that the European heads of government also dealt with the consequences of the financial market crisis at their summit meeting in Brussels today. "In doing so, the EU underlines its intention to play an active role in the international discussion on more financial market stability", stressed Manfred Weber, the Association's Chief Executive Officer. more ...

The Association of German Banks has launched a new section on its English website entitled "Banks and Consumers". Ten topics ranging from current accounts to consumers' statutory cancellation rights and the association's Ombudsman Scheme provide the English-speaking public with an overview of the key features of a customer/bank relationship in Germany. The Association of German Banks thus now offers extensive information on consumer issues in English as well as German. more ...

Online banking is popular: there were 35.3 million online accounts in Germany at the end of 2006. In 2000 there were only 15.1 million online accounts in total. Banks have put extensive security measures in place to protect confidential data when it is sent over the internet. But online customers have to play their part, too, to make their computer secure. Here are a few tips. more ...

The Board of Directors of the Association of German Banks today elected Klaus-Peter Müller, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank AG, to serve as President of the association for a further twelve months. Müller's presidency will now end in spring 2009. He has been in office since March 2005.

Thanks to the sharp upturn in the global economy and a favourable capital market climate, Germany’s banks steered a growth course in 2006. And both the business expansion and the upbeat earnings trend continued in the first half of 2007. That goes at least for the majority of banks, so that positive figures dominate in the Top 100. more ...

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) will be launched in January 2008. This means that from the beginning of next year there will be an integrated payments market for Europe's single currency, the euro - not only for the whole of the European Union but also for the countries belonging to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). more ...
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