Federal Association of German Banks

The Federal Association of German Banks, known in German as the Bundesverband deutscher Banken and commonly shortened to BdB or Bankenverband, is the principal representative organization for profit-oriented banks operating in Germany. It is an industry association rather than a bank, financial institution, or consumer-facing banking brand. Its members include large German commercial banks, regional banks, private banks, foreign-owned banks, fintech companies and other financial-sector participants. The association represents members in public-policy debates, regulatory consultations, industry coordination and communications with German and European institutions. The BdB was established in 1951 in Cologne as a registered association. It succeeded the pre-war Centralverband des deutschen Bank- und Bankiergewerbes, which had operated from Berlin between 1901 and 1945. The association returned to Berlin in 1999, reflecting the city’s renewed role as Germany’s political center, while its publishing subsidiary Bank-Verlag remained in Cologne. The BdB also maintains a representative presence in Brussels to engage with European institutions and banking-policy organizations. Germany’s banking system is often described through several institutional pillars. The BdB represents private and commercial banks, while the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Association represents cooperative banks, the German Savings Banks Association represents savings banks, and the Association of German Public Banks represents much of the public-sector banking segment. The BdB participates with these organizations in the German Banking Industry Committee. It is also a member of the European Banking Federation alongside the German public-bank association, making Germany one of the countries represented by more than one EBF member. A major operational responsibility associated with the BdB is deposit protection. The association administers the voluntary Deposit Protection Fund for private banks, known in German as the Einlagensicherungsfonds. This scheme was created in 1975 after the failure of Herstatt Bank in 1974, partly to strengthen confidence in private banks and to address perceived competitive differences between private institutions and banking sectors with established public or mutual protection arrangements. The statutory compensation scheme, Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken, or EdB, was established in 1998 after European rules required statutory deposit-guarantee arrangements. The EdB protects eligible deposits up to the harmonized European limit of EUR 100,000 per depositor and bank. The voluntary fund provides additional protection under its applicable rules, although coverage was revised after the Greensill Bank failure and is scheduled to become more limited over time. The association’s membership is organized into categories including large banks, regional banks, private bankers, extraordinary members, foreign banks and regional banking associations. The exact composition changes as institutions join, leave, merge or change legal status. The BdB also works closely with the Auditing Association of German Banks, or Prüfungsverband deutscher Banken, a related organization that assesses participating institutions’ risk profiles and contributes to the calculation of deposit-protection contributions. Governance is carried out through a representative executive board and a management board. Seats on the executive board are distributed among large banks, regional banks, private banks and foreign banks, with the association’s general manager also participating ex officio. The presidency has traditionally alternated between representatives of major banks and representatives of private or regional institutions, although the convention is not absolute. The association’s daily work covers banking regulation, financial stability, digitalization, sustainable finance, competition, payments, consumer issues and the public explanation of banking-sector positions. The BdB has also attracted scrutiny because of the wider German banking sector’s connection to the CumEx tax-trading controversy. Parliamentary investigators examined whether the association had relevant knowledge or involvement in practices that enabled multiple tax reclaims for a single dividend-tax payment. In 2020, prosecutors searched BdB offices in Berlin and Frankfurt as part of related investigations. These events concerned allegations and investigative activity rather than a finding that the association itself committed tax fraud. Today, the BdB remains an active industry body representing private banking interests in Germany and in European financial-policy discussions.

The Federal Association of German Banks was founded in 1951 in Cologne as a registered association representing private and commercial banks. Its institutional predecessor was the Centralverband des deutschen Bank- und Bankiergewerbes, founded in 1901 and based in Berlin until its activities ended in 1945. The postwar association was created during the reconstruction of West Germany’s financial and economic institutions and became the principal collective voice of profit-oriented banks. The BdB’s role developed alongside Germany’s distinctive multi-pillar banking system. Private commercial banks operate alongside savings banks, cooperative banks, public-sector institutions and specialized lenders. The association therefore became both a lobbying organization and a forum for sector coordination. It participates in the German Banking Industry Committee with the organizations representing other major banking groups. At European level, it works through the European Banking Federation, where Germany has more than one participating member because the BdB and the public-bank association represent different parts of the national banking sector. Deposit protection became one of the BdB’s most important institutional functions. The collapse of Herstatt Bank in June 1974 exposed weaknesses in confidence and protection arrangements and contributed to the creation of the voluntary Deposit Protection Fund in 1975. The fund was intended to support customer confidence in private banks and to address competitive concerns arising from the established protection mechanisms associated with savings and cooperative banks. European legal developments later required statutory national compensation systems. Germany established the Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken in 1998, with the BdB responsible for administering this statutory arrangement for the relevant institutions. The association moved its principal offices from Cologne back to Berlin in 1999. The relocation placed its main political and representative work closer to the federal government, parliament and national regulators. Bank-Verlag, a publishing subsidiary connected with the association, remained in Cologne. The BdB also established and maintained a Brussels office for European regulatory engagement. Over time, the membership expanded beyond traditional private banks. Its categories came to include large banks, regional banks, private bankers, extraordinary members such as fintech firms, foreign banks and regional associations. Consolidation among regional associations reduced their number from eleven to seven in 2021. The association’s governance reflects this diversity: major banks, regional institutions, private bankers and foreign banks receive representation through the executive board, while the general manager participates ex officio and leads the professional administration. The BdB’s public-policy agenda has broadened with changes in financial regulation and technology. Its work includes prudential rules, deposit protection, payments, digital finance, competition policy, sustainable finance, consumer matters and the representation of banking-sector positions to German and European decision-makers. It also provides sector information and communications intended to explain banking developments to the public and policymakers. The association’s history has included periods of controversy. In the aftermath of the CumEx Files revelations, a parliamentary fact-finding committee examined possible connections between the association and transactions involving multiple claims for dividend-tax refunds. Investigators were reportedly unable to obtain some BdB emails and documents. In 2020, prosecutors searched BdB offices in Berlin and Frankfurt in a related investigation. These events placed the association under scrutiny because of its role as an industry representative, but the available reference material does not establish that the BdB itself was convicted of tax fraud. The 2021 collapse of Greensill Bank was another major institutional test. The event generated a large payout obligation under the private-bank deposit-protection arrangements and affected more than 20,000 former customers. In response, the BdB changed the rules and future scale of voluntary additional protection, with coverage intended to decline progressively by 2030. The association remains active as Germany’s principal representative body for private and commercial banks, combining lobbying, industry coordination, public communication and administration of deposit-protection mechanisms.

• 2021

  Greensill Bank failure affects deposit protection

  [1]Bundesverband deutscher Bankenen.wikipedia.org

  The Greensill Bank collapse led to a major payout obligation and prompted changes to voluntary deposit-protection coverage.

• 2020

  Offices searched in CumEx-related investigation

  [1]Bundesverband deutscher Bankenen.wikipedia.org

  Prosecutors searched BdB offices in Berlin and Frankfurt during investigations concerning CumEx tax-trading allegations.

• 1999

  Head office returned to Berlin

  [1]Bundesverband deutscher Bankenen.wikipedia.org

  The association moved its main office from Cologne to Berlin, while Bank-Verlag remained in Cologne.

• 1998

  Statutory compensation scheme established

  [1]Bundesverband deutscher Bankenen.wikipedia.org

  The Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken was created in response to European requirements for statutory deposit-guarantee arrangements.

• 1975

  Voluntary Deposit Protection Fund created

  [1]Bundesverband deutscher Bankenen.wikipedia.org

  The BdB established the Einlagensicherungsfonds to provide additional protection for eligible customers of participating private banks.

• 1974

  Herstatt Bank failure

  [1]Bundesverband deutscher Bankenen.wikipedia.org

  The disorderly failure of Herstatt Bank became a major catalyst for strengthening private-bank deposit protection.

• 1969

  Auditing Association established

  [1]Bundesverband deutscher Bankenen.wikipedia.org

  The Prüfungsverband deutscher Banken was established as a related organization to assess risks of participating member institutions.

• 1951

  Association founded in Cologne

  [1]Bundesverband deutscher Bankenen.wikipedia.org

  The Bundesverband deutscher Banken was established as a registered association representing private and commercial banks in postwar Germany.

A central representative and policy organization for Germany’s private, commercial and internationally connected banking sector.

• Voluntary deposit protection · 1975

  Einlagensicherungsfonds

  The BdB’s voluntary Deposit Protection Fund provides additional protection beyond the statutory compensation framework for customers of participating private banks. It was introduced in 1975 after the Herstatt Bank failure. Coverage rules depend on the applicable framework and were revised after the Greensill Bank collapse, with a planned long-term reduction in maximum protection.

• Statutory deposit compensation · 1998

  Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken

  The EdB is the statutory compensation scheme administered for the relevant private-bank sector. It operates within European deposit-guarantee rules and protects eligible deposits up to the harmonized statutory limit of EUR 100,000 per depositor and bank.

• Professional association services · 1951

  Banking-sector representation

  The BdB represents member interests before German and European policymakers. Its work covers banking regulation, prudential supervision, payments, digital finance, sustainable finance, competition, consumer issues and financial stability. It also communicates industry positions and provides information relevant to members and the broader public.

• 2020

  Prosecutorial searches of BdB offices

  Berlin and Frankfurt offices of the association were searched by public prosecutors as part of related CumEx investigations, bringing renewed scrutiny to the organization’s role as a banking-sector representative.

  Source

• 2016

  CumEx tax-trading scrutiny

  A parliamentary fact-finding committee examined possible links between the BdB and CumEx transactions involving disputed or allegedly duplicated dividend-tax refunds. The committee reportedly faced difficulties obtaining emails and documents from the association. The matter remained an investigation and controversy rather than an established criminal conviction of the BdB.

  Source

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• 2021

  Reduce voluntary deposit-protection coverageStrategy

  Background

  The Greensill Bank collapse required the private-bank deposit-insurance system to compensate more than 20,000 former customers and generated a reported payout obligation of approximately EUR 2.7 billion.

  Action taken

  The BdB decided to reduce the maximum additional protection provided by the voluntary fund gradually, with lower target limits planned for 2030.

  Aftermath

  The decision changed the future risk-sharing model for participating banks and reduced the level of protection available above the statutory guarantee.

  Reported deposit-protection payout obligation after Greensill Bank failure. EUR 2.7 billion (2021)

  Source

• 1998

  Establish statutory compensation administrationStrategy

  Background

  European legislation required member states to create statutory deposit-guarantee arrangements that could not be replaced solely by a voluntary industry fund.

  Action taken

  Germany established the Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken for the relevant private-bank sector.

  Aftermath

  The statutory scheme operated alongside the BdB’s voluntary fund and aligned eligible deposit protection with European rules.

  Source

• 1975

  Create voluntary private-bank deposit protectionStrategy

  Background

  The failure of Herstatt Bank exposed confidence risks and highlighted differences between private banks and sectors with established public or mutual protection arrangements.

  Action taken

  The BdB created the Einlagensicherungsfonds as an additional, voluntary protection mechanism for participating private banks.

  Aftermath

  The fund became a central part of the private-bank protection architecture and complemented the later statutory scheme.

  Source

1. 1Bundesverband deutscher Bankenen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Federal Association of German Banks official websitebankenverband.de