war in Ukraine
Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank: Contingency plans are in place
The Commerbank headquarters and the logo of the bank at a branch in Frankfurt am Main. Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
German financial institutions, such as Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, have also developed emergency plans in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Risks are under control, it said.
Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank have expressed great concern about developments in Ukraine.
“We have prepared for various scenarios and developed emergency plans,” said a spokesman for Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt. “We have significantly reduced our exposure to Russia in recent years and our risks are under control.”
Germany’s largest financial institution operates a technology center in Russia and therefore has a comparatively high number of around 1,500 employees in the country. There are also almost 40 in Ukraine.
“The German banking industry strongly condemns Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” emphasized Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing, who is also President of the Association of German Banks (BdB), on behalf of the umbrella organization of the five major banking associations in Germany. “We stand united with the federal government and the European Union when it comes to sanctions. Aggression that violates international law and the attack on a country must not go unnoticed in the 21st century.” This year, the BdB is the leader of the German banking industry (DK).
Commerzbank explained: “We are prepared for various escalation scenarios.” The commitment in Russia and Ukraine is manageable, it has already been significantly reduced in recent years. According to a spokesman for the Frankfurt MDax group, Commerzbank has 135 employees in Russia and 2 employees in Ukraine.
According to Bundesbank figures, the claims of German banks against Russia amount to around 6.03 billion euros. The Association of German Banks (BdB) pointed out that most of the financial institutions “have been reluctant to engage in Russia in recent years due to the sanctions that have been in place since 2014”.
According to the industry association GDV on Thursday, German insurers are “hardly involved in Ukraine and Russia”. The general manager of the General Association of German Insurers (GDV), Jörg Asmussen, explained: “The effects of the foreseeable economic and, in particular, financial sector sanctions remain to be seen.”