It is rare in these times that the federal government has 2.3 billion euros to spare. But that is exactly the case, and of course there are many interested parties for the money that is currently still in a bank rescue fund. In the financial crisis of 2007/2008, the German state rescued or stabilized numerous banks with tax money. The direct costs of all rescue operations were estimated at over 70 billion euros. In 2011, the federal government set up the national restructuring fund so that the banking industry can largely cover emergencies in the financial system itself in the future. Depending on the balance sheet total and risk profile, a number of German banks paid in 2.3 billion euros as a bank levy up to and including 2014. Deutsche Bank contributed the largest share.
The system was Europeanized in 2015, and today the bank levy goes to the European bank resolution fund SRF. The Federal Ministry of Finance kept the 2.3 billion euros as bridge financing until the SRF is fully financed, which should be the case in the coming year. This frees up the 2.3 billion euros in special funds – and the question arises as to what should happen with the money.
“The banks are lobbying for the money to be paid out to them. Deutsche Bank, for example, could expect a three-digit million amount,” says Gerhard Schick, head of the Finanzwende citizens’ movement. A number that is confirmed in financial circles. Schick doesn’t think a refund is a good idea. “Financial institutions have done a great deal of damage with the financial crisis. Demanding money from the federal government when there are still outstanding debts from the bank bailouts is just outrageous.” The former member of the Bundestag for the Greens demands that the 2.3 billion euros be used to repay at least a small part of the debt that the banks have caused, for example with the special fund for financial market stabilization. At the end of 2021, the debt there amounted to 22.8 billion euros. Federal Finance Minister Lindner (FDP) will decide this matter in the next few weeks. “Christian Lindner can either go in the direction of justice or in the direction of gifts for banks,” says Schick.
The German financial institutions, above all Deutsche Bank, have been campaigning for a long time to lower the bank levy. Because the levy is based on the amount of savings deposits, which had recently risen sharply, the banks also had to pay significantly more for the security fund. After 2.5 billion euros in the previous year, the German institutes would have to pay in 3.4 billion euros this year, the financial regulator Bafin announced this week.
The whining of the banking industry follows an endless loop. The banks repeatedly raise the accusation that they are being deprived of important equity capital, which is the basis for the domestic economy’s supply of credit. At the same time, they often pay high bonuses to their employees instead of setting aside the funds as a loss buffer.
In addition, the banks have benefited massively, at least indirectly, from government support measures during the Corona crisis. In order to prevent mass company bankruptcies, the federal government had granted state-guaranteed loans for around 50 billion euros to thousands of medium-sized companies, but also to large companies such as TUI and Lufthansa, via the KfW development bank. After all, their bankruptcy would have torn huge holes in bank balance sheets, which is probably why the federal government was also concerned with preventing a banking crisis. The ECB also stepped in with loans that do not have to be repaid in full.
Even in the current energy crisis, the state is on the spot with many billions: The government bailout of the energy wholesaler Uniper saves a number of domestic and foreign banks that had given Uniper credit from major defaults.