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Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe

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Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe
Company typePublic banking group
IndustrieFinancial services
Gegründet1975 bringing together older entities, some of which trace their roots to the 17th century
Hauptsitz
Deutschland
Key people
Helmut Schleweis [de], Sparkassenpräsident since 2018
ProdukteBanking and financial services
Websitesparkasse.de

The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe ("Savings Banks Financial Group") is a network of public banks that together form the largest financial services group in Germany and in all of Europe. Its name refers to local government-controlled savings banks that are known in German as Sparkasse [de], plural Sparkassen.[1] Its activity is overwhelmingly located in Germany.

History

The first savings banks in Germany were founded at the beginning of the 18th century in its major trading cities. One of the first institutions with the business model of modern savings banks was the Ersparungscasse der Hamburgischen Allgemeinen Versorgungsanstalt in Hamburg in 1778. Founders were rich merchants, clerks and academics. They intended to develop solutions for people with low income to save small sums of money and to support business start-ups.[2] In 1801 the first savings bank with a municipal guarantor was founded in Göttingen to fight poverty.[3] Between 1850 and 1903 the idea of the municipal savings banks spread and the number of savings banks in Germany increased from 630 to 2834.[4]

Key concepts

The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe is highly idiosyncratic, and its description requires understanding of key notions that are unique to its German context.

Träger

The German word Träger [de] ("holder", plural also Träger) refers specifically, in the context of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, to the specific owner-like relationship between a local government, e.g. a municipality (German: Gemeinde), union of municipalities (Gemeindeverband) or district (German: Kreis, Landkreis, kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis), and a public-sector institution (German: Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts [de]), e.g. a Sparkasse. Träger implies a form of control that is not legally a form of ownership but is practically akin to it, given that the Sparkasse is itself an independent public entity but the Träger has ownership-like governance rights over it.

Until the early 21st century, the Träger also provided explicit financial guarantees to the institutions they controlled, but these guarantees were mostly phased out under an agreement concluded on 17 July 2001 between a group of German negotiators and the European Commission represented by Competition Commissioner Mario Monti, known in German as the Brüsseler Konkordanz [de].

Regional principle

The Regional Principle (German: Regionalprinzip [de]) stipulates that entities of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe such as Sparkassen or public insurers have a local monopoly within the group within the geographical area in which they are established, namely the territory of their Träger. It is established in the Sparkassen legislation (German: Sparkassengesetz [de], German acronym SpkG) which is specific to each of the states of Germany (German: Länder) except Hamburg, which has no SpkG. The states of Hesse of Schleswig-Holstein have less restrictive legislation on the Regional Principle than the other German Länder, linked to the fact that, as in Hamburg, they have Sparkassen under the legal-form of joint-stock companies (Aktiengesellschaft) as opposed to public-sector entities.

Group entities

In late 2020, the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe included 520 member entities, as described in its 2021 Annual Report:[5]

National and regional associations

Coverage map of the regional Sparkassenverbände

The Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (DSGV, self-translated as "German Savings Banks Association") is a nonprofit association, based in Berlin and founded in 1924.[6] It operates as an umbrella organization to facilitate decision-making processes, coordinate strategy, and represent its members' political and regulatory interests at the national and international levels.[7]

The 12 regional associations (German: Sparkassenverbände) are statutory bodies, of which savings banks Träger are statutory members. They are responsible for coordination between savings banks in a region, and manage the regional funds that participate in the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe's institutional protection scheme. They also act as auditors and operate regional savings bank academies for educational and training purposes.[8]

They are, from north to south:

In addition, a dedicated association, the Verband der Freien Sparkassen [de] (VFS), exists for Sparkassen that are (or recently were) joint-stock companies. The latter are members of both the respective regional Sparkassenverband and the VFS.[9]

  • DSGV head office in Berlin
    DSGV head office in Berlin
  • Sparkassenverband Westfalen-Lippe head office in Münster
    Sparkassenverband Westfalen-Lippe head office in Münster
  • Rheinischer Sparkassen- und Giroverband head office in Dusseldorf
    Rheinischer Sparkassen- und Giroverband head office in Dusseldorf
  • Sparkassenverband Rheinland-Pfalz head office in Mainz
    Sparkassenverband Rheinland-Pfalz head office in Mainz
  • LBBW building in Stuttgart, hosting the head office of Sparkassenverband Baden-Württemberg
    LBBW building in Stuttgart, hosting the head office of Sparkassenverband Baden-Württemberg

Sparkassen

Saving banks coverage in Germany

The Sparkassen work as commercial banks in a decentralized structure.[10] Each savings bank is independent, locally managed and concentrates its business activities on customers in the territory in which it is situated under the Regional Principle. In general, Sparkassen are not profit oriented. The Träger of the savings banks are usually single municipalities or several municipalities within a district.[11]

As banks under public law, the vast majority of Sparkassen have a public mandate which requires that they serve their local stakeholders and local communities.[12] Five institutions known as "free Sparkassen" (German: freie Sparkassen) are or recently were joint-stock companies. They are: Bordesholmer Sparkasse [de], Sparkasse Bremen [de], Hamburger Sparkasse, Sparkasse zu Lübeck, and Sparkasse Mittelholstein. Their Träger are charitable foundations. They are members of the VFS, as is Sparkasse Westholstein [de] despite its current public-sector legal status.

Fulfilling public interests is still one of the most significant characteristics of public banks in general and the savings banks in particular. Although public interest is very unspecific, objects of those companies are usually:

  • providing financial and monetary services in economically underdeveloped regions;
  • supporting saving processes and accumulation of capital;
  • strengthening competition in the banking industry.[13]

The total assets of the Sparkassen amount to about €1 trillion. The 431 savings banks operate a network of over 15,600 branches and offices and employ over 250,000 people.[14] Savings banks are universal banks and provide the whole spectrum of banking services for private and commercial medium-sized customers.[10] 50 million customers maintain business activities with savings banks.[15] Although independent and regionally spread, the savings banks act as one unit under the brand Sparkasse with its iconic logo and recognizable red hue.

The size of savings banks differs widely depending on the economy in their region. While the biggest, Hamburger Sparkasse, had total assets of €37.7 billion and 5,500 employees in 2009, the smallest (Stadtsparkasse Bad Sachsa) had only €129.6 million in assets and 45 employees.[16]

Landesbanken

Landesbanken coverage map in Germany

The Landesbanken are mostly owned by the regional savings banks through its regional association and the respective federal state.[17] After several mergers and acquisitions, there are five Landesbanken left: BayernLB, NordLB, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen (Helaba), and the much smaller Landesbank Saar.[17] Until June 2010, the BayernLB was majority shareholder of the Landesbank Saar (SaarLB) with a share of 75.1%. Since June 2010, the Saarland has become shareholder with a stake of 35.2% and the BayernLB reduced its share to 49.9%. The remaining 14.9% are held by the Sparkassen through its regional confederation.[18]

Former Landesbanks have been merged or restructured. Bremer Landesbank Kreditanstalt Oldenburg - Girozentrale belongs with a share of 92.5% to the Nord/LB-Group, the rest being owned by the federal state of Bremen.[19] Sachsen Landesbank (SachsenLB) and Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz (LRP) have been subsidiaries of LBBW since April 2008.[20] HSH Nordbank, formerly one of the Landesbanken, was privatized in 2018 after severe losses and is now known as Hamburg Commercial Bank. In total, the assets of the Landesbanks have shrunk by 45 percent, or more than €702 billion, between end-2008 and end-2017.[5]: 54 

The Landesbanks have traditionally acted as central financial services providers for regional savings bank association and as the "main bank" of the respective Länder. They are also local banks, mortgage banks and general commercial banks. Their duties and powers are codified in the individual banking laws of the Länder (Landesbankengesetze). The specific tasks for the savings banks include central clearing for cashless payments and liquidity funding for the regional savings banks. They also provide many services for the savings banks in the region in securities and cross-country businesses. In contrast to savings banks, they do wholesale banking rather than retail banking.[21] With combined total assets of €1.6 trillion as of December 2010, the seven Landesbanken-Groups employ some 44,000 people.[22]

  • NordLB head office in Hanover
    NordLB head office in Hanover
  • Helaba head office in frankfurt
    Helaba head office in frankfurt
  • SaarLB head office in Saarbrücken
    SaarLB head office in Saarbrücken
  • LBBW head office in Stuttgart
    LBBW head office in Stuttgart
  • BayernLB head office in Munich
    BayernLB head office in Munich
  • Landesbank Berlin head office in Berlin
    Landesbank Berlin head office in Berlin

Public insurers

Public insurers coverage map in Germany

The nine public insurers that belong to the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe are:[23]

  • Head office of Versicherungskammer Bayern in Munich
    Head office of Versicherungskammer Bayern in Munich
  • Head office of Provinzial in Münster
    Head office of Provinzial in Münster
  • Head office of SV Sparkassenversicherung in Stuttgart
    Head office of SV Sparkassenversicherung in Stuttgart
  • Head office of VGH Versicherungen in Hanover
    Head office of VGH Versicherungen in Hanover
  • Head office of Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen in Dresden
    Head office of Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen in Dresden
  • Head office of Öffentliche Versicherung in Braunschweig
    Head office of Öffentliche Versicherung in Braunschweig
  • Head office of BGV / Badische Versicherungen in Karlsruhe
    Head office of BGV / Badische Versicherungen in Karlsruhe

Landesbausparkassen

The core business of the eight Landesbausparkassen [de] ("Land-level building savings banks") is collective real estate saving products (Bausparen) and low-interest residential mortgage loans,[24] with a share of the German mortgage market of about one-third and cumulative assets of €74.5 billion.[5]: 59 . They are, from north to south:

The corporate forms and ownership structures of the Landesbausparkassen are diverse, even though all involve one or several regional associations (Sparkassenverbände). Some, like LBS Ost and Bausparkasse Schleswig-Holstein-Hamburg, are joint-stock companies, while others are public-sector entities. Bausparkasse Schleswig-Holstein-Hamburg is owned by the Sparkassenverband (57.5%) and Hamburger Sparkasse (42.5%). LBS Nord is owned by NordLB (44%), Landesbank Berlin (12%) and the Lower Saxon Sparkassenverband (44%). Landesbausparkasse Hessen-Thüringen is majority-owned (68.85%) by the regional Sparkassenverband but also has stakes from the two Länder of Hesse and Thuringia as well as from the two Sparkassenverbände of North Rhine-Westphalia and two legal entities of the Finanzgruppe, FIDES Alpha and FIDES Beta. Landesbausparkasse Saar is owned by the Land (74.9%) and the Sparkassenverband (25.1%) of Saarland. For the others, the relevant regional association(s) are the sole Träger.[25]

  • LBS Nord head office in Hanover
    LBS Nord head office in Hanover
  • LBS West head office in Münster
    LBS West head office in Münster
  • LBS Südwest head office in Stuttgart
    LBS Südwest head office in Stuttgart

DekaBank

Trianon Tower in Frankfurt, head office of DekaBank

DekaBank with its subsidiaries is the central asset manager of the German Savings Bank Finance Group. Based in Frankfurt and Berlin it provides asset management services for the Sparkassen and the Landesbanken and their customers.[26] With managed fund assets of about €155 billion, approximately five million customer deposits[27] and group locations in Luxembourg[28] and Switzerland,[29] the DekaBank Group is one of the largest asset managers in Germany. DekaBank's roots date back to 1918, when Deutsche Girozentrale (DGZ) was founded.[30] Deka as an investment company was founded in 1956 (17.08.1956) by DGZ with a share of 23% in 11 other regional Landesbanken.[31] Today's DekaBank was created in 1999 by a merger of DGZ and Deka.[32]

Until 8 June 2011, DekaBank was owned by the German Savings Banks and Giro Association Landesbanken which grouped the shares in the GLB GmbH & Co.OHG, which held the DekaBank shares.[33] On 7 April 2011, the Savings Banks bought the 50% stake from the landesbanken for €2.3 billion to become sole owner of the DekaBank.[34] The acquisition was closed on 8 June 2011 and DekaBank became fully, directly owned by the savings banks.[35]

3,700 people throughout the group work in one of the three business divisions AMK (Asset Management Capital Markets), AMI (Asset Management Real Estate Business), C&M (Corporates and Markets), the sales division or one of the corporate centers.[36]

Foundations

Head office of the German Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation in Bonn

As of end-2020, the Savings banks network maintained a total of 769 foundations in Germany, with total capital of €2.72 billion.[5]: 65  At the national level, the German Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation [de] (German: Deutsche Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation e.V.) in Bonn, also known as Deutsche Sparkassenstiftung, centralizes actions in favor of international development.[5]: 66 

Group arrangements

The internal legal and financial arrangements of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe are complex, in line with its largely decentralized structure that mirrors its long history.

Institutional protection scheme

The core feature of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe is a set of mutual support arrangements initially established in 1973 and known as an Institutional Protection Scheme (IPS) in EU law, namely the Capital Requirements Regulation. The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe IPS is complex and its contractual details are not made public. As of 2021, it included 13 participating sub-funds:

Each of the regional sub-funds absorbs losses as needed to preventively support a member entity in need, unless it is itself depleted in which case it is in turn supported by the other regional sub-funds on a proportional basis ("supra-regional equalization") and, if further needed, also by the two national sub-funds ("system-wide equalization").[37]: 19 

The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe IPS is also recognized as statutory deposit insurance scheme (DGS) under the EU DGS Directive of 2014.[5]: 77–79 

The DSGV does not generally disclose cases or amounts of IPS interventions. One known case was the rescue of Norddeutsche Landesbank in 2019, in which the IPS contributed 1.2 billion euro in fresh equity in addition to contributions by the relevant Länder.[37]: 21 

Accounting and auditing

The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe publishes unaudited, unconsolidated, aggregated financial statements of the German activities of its group entities, in line with the disclosure requirement for IPSs enshrined in Article 113(7)(e) of the EU Capital Requirements Regulation. Specifically, the scope of aggregation in 2021 (report on the financial year 2020) included all Savings Banks, Landesbanken, Landesbausparkassen, as well as Hamburg Commercial Bank since it was still affiliated with the Institution Protection Scheme. Neither the foreign branches of Landesbanken nor any of their subsidiaries, whether domestic or foreign, are included, and neither are the foreign branches of Landesbausparkassen.[5]: 84  On that basis, the group had total aggregated assets of €2.4 trillion as of end-2020, of which 1.4 trillion in the local savings banks.[5]: 46–47 

The following entities are members of the IPS even though they are not included in the group's scope of accounting aggregation: Berlin Hyp, Deutsche Hypothekenbank, Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft (Deutschland) AG, Landesbank Berlin Holding, Portigon AG, S-Kreditpartner [de], S Broker [de], and Weberbank [de].[5]: 84 

Most entities of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe have no external auditors but are audited instead by audit entities of the group itself. Some group-level entities such as DekaBank, however, publish externally audited financial statements.

Leadership

The leading public figure of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe at the national level is the President of the DSGV, also known as the Sparkassenpräsident.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe". German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation.
  2. ^ Fakten, Analysen, Positionen: Zur Geschichte der Sparkassen in Deutschland Nr. 45, Publisher: Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, P.4., [1] ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  3. ^ Fakten, Analysen, Positionen: Zur Geschichte der Sparkassen in Deutschland Nr. 45, Publisher: Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, P.5., [2] ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  4. ^ Magarete Wagner-Braun: Die Deutsche Girozentrale als Antwort auf Finanzprobleme des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts: in:Die DekaBank seit 1918, Publisher: Institut für bankhistorische Forschung e.V., ISBN 978-3-09-303815-0, P.16/17.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Annual Report of the Savings Banks Finance Group". dsgv.de.
  6. ^ Fakten, Analysen, Positionen: Zur Geschichte der Sparkassen in Deutschland Nr. 45, Publisher: Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, P.10., [3] ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  7. ^ DSGV-Website ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  8. ^ DSGV-Website-Organisation-Verbände ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  9. ^ Verband der deutschen freien Sparkassen e.V. ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  10. ^ a b DSGV-Website-Organisation-Sparkassen; accessed: 13.06.2011
  11. ^ Klaus Ulrich: Die deutsche Sparkassenorganisation, Deutscher Sparkassen Verlag GmbH, P.15/16.
  12. ^ Cassell, Mark K. (2021). Banking on the state : the political economy of public savings banks. Newcastle upon Tyne. ISBN 978-1-78821-197-0. OCLC 1227268773.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ^ Andrea Kositzki: Das öffentlich-rechtliche Kreditgewerbe: eine empirische Analyse zur Struktureffizienz und zur Unternehmensgröße im Sparkassensektor, Dt. Universitäts-Verlag, Wiesbaden 2004, ISBN 3-8244-7887-0, P.13.; Maik Rösler: Der Genossenschaftliche Bankensektor, Grin-Verlag 2008, ISBN 978-3-640-71737-8, P.14
  14. ^ Das Profil, Publisher: Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, P.3. [4] ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  15. ^ Das Profil, Publisher: Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, P.4. [5] ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  16. ^ "Sparkassenrangliste 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  17. ^ a b DSGV-Website-Organisation-Landesbanken; accessed: 13.06.2011
  18. ^ Geschichte der SaarLB, P.7, [6] ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  19. ^ Website of Bremer Landesbank, Investor Relations – Über uns- Kurzportrait, [7] ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  20. ^ Website of the LBBW, History of the Group [8] ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  21. ^ Klaus Ulrich: Die deutsche Sparkassenorganisation, Deutscher Sparkassen Verlag GmbH, P.36-38.
  22. ^ Landesbanken in Deutschland – Beschäftigte, Bilanzsumme, Anteilseigner, Website of the Bundesverband öffentlicher Banken Deutschlands (VÖB), [9] Archived 2012-03-25 at the Wayback Machine ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  23. ^ "Überall in Deutschland: Die öffentlichen Erstversicherungsgruppen". Verband öffentlicher Versicherer.
  24. ^ DSGV-Website-Organisation-Landesbausparkassen ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  25. ^ Overview of the regional based Landesbausparkassen ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  26. ^ DekaBank Group Annual Report 2010, P.18.
  27. ^ DekaBank Group Annual Report 2010, P.1.
  28. ^ DekaBank Luxembourg S.A.
  29. ^ "Deka (Swiss) Privatbank AG". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  30. ^ Magarete Wagner-Braun: Die Deutsche Girozentrale als Antwort auf Finanzprobleme des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts: in:Die DekaBank seit 1918, Publisher: Institut für bankhistorische Forschung e.V., ISBN 978-3-09-303815-0, P.28.
  31. ^ Thorsten Beckers: Gründung und erste Jahre der Deutschen Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH 1956-1970 in:Die DekaBank seit 1918, Publisher: Institut für bankhistorische Forschung e.V., ISBN 978-3-09-303815-0, P.271.
  32. ^ Chronik der DekaBank 1999-2007 in:Die DekaBank seit 1918, Publisher: Institut für bankhistorische Forschung e.V., ISBN 978-3-09-303815-0, P.463.
  33. ^ DekaBank Group Annual Report 2010, P.19.
  34. ^ DSGV press release No.36 on 07.04.2011 [10] ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  35. ^ DSGV press release No.55 on 08.06.2011 [11] ; accessed: 13.06.2011
  36. ^ DekaBank Group Annual Report, P.19-21.
  37. ^ a b Jakob de Haan (2022). "Institutional Protection Schemes in German Banking". European Parliament.
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