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Banking Industry
Within a highly developed national economy, the banking industry plays a central part. As institutional investors and financial institutions, banks perform functions that are important for the national economy. According to the provisions of the German Banking Law, the banks in Germany are subject to the joint supervision of the Federal Banking Supervisory Office and the Deutsche Bundesbank1.
With the introduction of the euro - as a common currency of the presently 12 European Union Member States (Belgium, Germany, Finland, France,Greece (from 1 January 2001), Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, and Spain) -, the responsibility for a uniform monetary policy in the euro area has been transferred to the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), taking effect from 1 January 1999. The ESCB, consisting of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks of the EU Member States, has taken over the role of the "guardian of the euro", thus bearing responsibility for the stability of the new currency. Transferring the monetary competences to the ECB made it necessary to adjust the functions of the participating national central banks. They have to contribute to fulfilling the tasks of the ESCB. What has not changed is their function of ensuring the functioning of domestic and cross-border bank payments. This means that the Deutsche Bundesbank is also responsible for notes and coin in circulation.
Information on the scope and type of the activity of (private-sector and public-law) credit institutions may be obtained from their balance sheet showing assets and liabilities at a given reference date. The main asset item of the balance sheet is "lending to non-banks". As for the liabilities, the deposits of non-banks are most important.
Most of the banking statistics are compiled by the Deutsche Bundesbank. The start of the third stage of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has led to a modified presentation of statistical data by the Deutsche Bundesbank from 1999. This will have an impact on the future comparability of results.
Data on the activity of building and loan associations are based on statistics compiled by the federations of private and public building and loan associations. The deposits for building purposes are a special form of savings deposits, which is due to their earmarking (within a certain period of time, they may be used for housing construction only).
The insurance industry offers a wide range of insurances against most different risks. They include private health, accident and non-life insurances (e.g. fire and liability insurances) and also life assurance. The level of business activity can be derived in particular from the amounts insured and the number of policies sold. The supervisory office for insurance companies is the Federal Supervisory Office for Insurance1, which is also responsible for insurance statistics.
1 On 1 May 2002, the Federal Banking Supervisory Office merged with the Federal Supervisory Offices for Insurance and for Securities Trading to form the German Financial Supervisory Authority (BAFin).