Only small steps lead to the goal – Bavaria

The President of the Savings Banks Association of Bavaria, Ulrich Reuter, believes that the creation of a central institute for the Savings Banks is unlikely in the foreseeable future. In the medium term this is difficult, said Reuter der Stock exchanges newspaper. “There will be no solution in the next two or three years.” The thought that a central institute would emerge from a big bang is misleading anyway. In this connection, he said to BayernLB: “I don’t see the Free State of Bavaria exchanging its 75 percent stake for a share of x percent in a central institute of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe.” Other ways would have to be found. “If things don’t work out on a large scale, things have to move forward on a small scale,” said Reuter. “It did so in 2021.” The Landesbanken cooperated within the framework of what was possible under competition law. In addition, they would have reduced risks. The President of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV), Helmut Schleweis, has been campaigning for a leading institution in the public finance sector for years. However, the idea also encountered resistance within its own ranks. In December, the then Eastern Savings Banks President Michael Ermrich also expressed skepticism about a central institute for the savings banks. There is still a long way to go, and he doesn’t see any quick solutions, Ermrich said in a Reuters interview at the time. Intermediate steps such as increased cooperation or division of labor between the Landesbanks in many things could make more sense. Reuter does not believe in a specific target for the number of savings banks in Bavaria. “A target image could be reinterpreted as paternalism for its own members. We don’t want that,” he told the newspaper. The decisions would be made on the spot. According to Reuter, it depends on many aspects whether merger talks between savings banks lead to a result or not. “However, I assume that by the end of the decade we will be moving towards 50 institutes at the same rate of merger.” As of January 1, 2022, there were 63 institutes.