The German banking system is characterized by high fragmentation, low profitability and low foreign ownership. Main reason for this is its particular structure that can best be described as forced segmentation. This structure produces local banking markets. The book argues that local bank competition is not as pronounced as national concentration ratios predict and presents a bank pricing study which indicates that local banks, banks located in less densely populated areas and less productive banks tend to charge higher prices for retail bank services than banks that operate nationally. These results as well as lessons drawn from international reforms suggest that the German banking system could benefit from cross-pillar consolidation which promises to export competition from the national to local banking markets. Last but not least, the book analyzes political economy implications of banking reforms and provides suggestions on status quo resolution by identifying ways to facilitate reform implementation in the German banking system.

This paper evaluates the risks and vulnerabilities of the German financial system and reviews both the German regulatory and supervisory framework and implementation of the common European framework insofar as it is relevant for Germany. The country is home to two global systemically important financial institutions, Deutsche Bank AG and Allianz SE. The system is also very heterogeneous, with a range of business models and a large number of smaller banks and insurers. The regulatory landscape has changed profoundly with strengthened solvency and liquidity regulations for banks (the EU Capital Requirements Regulation and Directive IV), and the introduction of macroprudential tools.

This book is both a reference book on Germany's financial system and a contribution to the economic debate about its status at the beginning of the twenty-first century. In giving a comprehensive account of the many facets of the system, it covers corporate governance, relationship lending, stock market development, investor protection, the venture capital industry, and the accounting system, and reports on monetary transmission and the credit channel, regulation and banking competition, the insurance and investment industry, and mergers and acquisitions. Special chapters at the beginning and at the end of the book adopt the financial system perspective, analysing the mutual fit of different features of the financial system; and each of the fifteen chapters addresses particular myths that surround it. The book is invaluable for those who want to understand the German economy and its financial system, promising not only a compilation of facts and statistics on Germany's financial markets and institutions, but also an analysis of its current structure and the determinants of its future development.

Financial services firms play a key role in the European economy. The efficiency and profitability of these firms and the competition among them have an impact on allocation of savings, financing of investment, economic growth, the stability of the financial system and the transmission of monetary policy. This collection of research contributions includes evaluations of trends in the European financial service industry and examinations of the driving forces of efficiency, competition and profitability of financial firms and institutions in Europe. The papers have been written by leading academics and researchers in the field, who specialize in strategic, systematic and policy issues related to the European financial services industry. This edited collection will be will be essential reading for students and academics but will also be of interest to financial practitioners and government officials interested in acquiring a deeper understanding of this complex issue.

A midst stormy waters, financial systems develop and evolve. New institutional forms and instruments are invented and put into use. Some of them turn out to be successful while others disappear: a natural process of creative and dynamic competition argues for diversity. Diversity offers an optimal environment in which new ideas can come to life, existing ideas can evolve and old ideas make a comeback. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the foundations of several decades of modern and innovative financial systems have suffered serious damage. This has triggered massive state interventions and has led authorities to revamp the regulatory structures and frameworks. While many voices have called for a return to more traditional approaches to banking and finance, no one has argued the merits of diversity. This book investigates the merits of a diverse banking system with a special focus on the performance and role of cooperative banks in seven European countries where they are prominent (Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain). The theoretical and empirical arguments that are developed in this book tend to support the view that it is economically beneficial to have stakeholder-value banks with a dual bottom-line function, such as cooperative banks. For those who accept this premise, it would suggest that policy-makers should not take or support actions that could jeopardise this valuable element of the financial system in various countries in Europe and of the emerging integrated European financial system. Book jacket.

Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: Within the last few years, dramatic changes took and still take place in the retail banking business. On the supply-side competition for cooperative banks is increasing due to various reasons. New competitors with different business models have entered the market. There is no doubt that they pose a serious threat to cooperative universal banks (which were the focus of this dissertation) and whose market share is declining constantly. Furthermore, non-banks and near-banks have to be considered in this respect, too, as these entities' business models are increasingly targeting customers of universal banks. On the demand side, changing customer behavior has accelerated transformation processes in recent years. An increased willingness to change suppliers can be noticed as consumers are placing more and more importance on price. A strong price awareness is changing market conditions in many business sectors in Germany. Decreasing customer loyalty forces universal banks to push sales activities and to intensify their personal relationship with the customer. The main objectives of this dissertation are the following: Work out a strategy within today s typical structure as a universal bank. Identify key success factors and evaluate this strategy for its chances for success. Derive the consequences for the future business model of a cooperative bank. Determine the change steps necessary to strengthen the competitiveness. Furthermore, the prerequisites of such a change process will have to be worked out. An inductive approach was chosen to achieve the aims of this thesis (Gill & Johnson). Firstly, an in-depth analysis of existing literature was carried out in order to gain an overview on current developments such as a) customer behaviour, and b) the competitive situation of the financial services sector. The results were to produce not only an explanation for current trends but also allow the prediction of future trends over the course of the next years. The environment in which cooperative banks are operating was described in detail. This approach provides a good basis to identify the relevant factors and to work out the necessary consequences for cooperative banks. In order to examine possible conclusions, interviews with 12 experts in the field were conducted. The target groups were CEOs of cooperative banks and representatives of cooperative bank associations. It is those people who are confronted with new challenges [...]

German bank profitability is low by international standards. Although German banks rank more favorably in risk-adjusted terms, as low profitability is partially compensated by lower volatility of returns, their profitability ratios remain low. On other measures (such as returns on assets, equity, and risk-weighted assets), German banks, on aggregate, rank among the least profitable in Europe. Several factors affect bank profitability, including a complex tiered industry structure with barriers to entry and an explicit mandate of a large part of the banking system – cooperative and savings banks – to maximize welfare of stakeholders rather than profits.