German public banking sector

The German public banking sector (German: Öffentliches Kreditwesen) represents a significant share of the broader banking sector in Germany. Unlike in most other Western and Central European countries, German public-sector banks have been present since the early phases of formalization of banking entities in the early modern period and have never lost their collective significance. They are typically referred to as one of the three “pillars” of the German banking system, the other two pillars being the cooperative banks and commercial banks.

Following many steps of development, consolidation, and restructuring, the German public banking sector (leaving aside the Deutsche Bundesbank) consists mainly of two clusters: the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, which competes with commercial and cooperative banks and includes local savings banks (German: Sparkassen) and regional entities (German: Landesbanken); and promotional and development banks (German: Förderbanken) owned by the Federal Republic of Germany (in the case of KfW) or the individual states of Germany.