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Berlin (dpa) - The Bayerische Landesbank already distanced itself from the scandalous company more than a year before the Wirecard balance sheet fraud was exposed.
The decision was made in 2018 to get out of a credit relationship, said a board member of LB Bayern on Thursday in the Bundestag's investigative committee.
"At the center of these considerations was: If we give away 150 million euros or more, then only if we really understand the customer very, very well."
At that point in time, Wirecard had only been known for two years; that was not enough time.
At the same time, important questions about the business model and the complex balance sheet structure of the up-and-coming fintech remained open.
At no time was it assumed that there was any criminal activity or fraud.
LB Bayern granted Wirecard a loan together with other banks in 2016.
Initially, however, only a small amount was taken over, said the bank's head of risk.
When the loan was to be topped up in 2018, they saw too high a risk and no longer took part.
But there were no doubts about Wirecard's equity.
"We didn't doubt that it was valuable."
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In the summer of 2020, the now insolvent former Dax group Wirecard had granted air bookings of 1.9 billion euros.
The company is said to have reported fake profits for years.
According to the public prosecutor's office, it could total around three billion euros.
As a service provider for cashless payments, the company sat at the interface between merchants and credit card companies.