The German savings banks and Landesbanken have decided to reform their system worth billions to rescue ailing institutions and to secure customer deposits.
Together we succeeded in finding solutions that make the security system even more efficient, transparent and powerful, said Helmut Schleweis, President of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV), in Berlin on Friday.
The core of the agreement is therefore an additional security fund in addition to existing funds, which the institutes are to fill from 2025. The aim is to be able to act more quickly in the event of a crisis. The regional security pots should be retained, according to the DSGV. The supervisory authorities still have to approve the project. "We are optimistic that we will soon be able to conclude the talks with the ECB," said Schleweis after a general meeting of the DSGV.
According to earlier media reports, the compromise between the savings banks and the Landesbanken stipulates that the public institutions should save an additional 5.2 billion euros.
The Landesbanken should therefore contribute 2.6 billion euros, with the savings banks accounting for two billion euros.
In addition, there would be "promise to pay" of 600 million euros at the savings banks.
According to reports, the pot should be filled by 2032.
The DSGV did not want to comment on details on Friday.
The European Central Bank (ECB) and the German financial regulator Bafin have been pushing for reform for some time.
When the Landesbank NordLB was bailed out in 2019, the ECB banking supervisory authority criticized the system as being too complicated and slow.