Neither he nor Deutsche Bank shared the analyst’s views, Sewing made clear to officials, and informed people report.
(Photo: imago images / Rainer Unkel)
Frankfurt Christian Sewing has apologized to the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Bafin banking regulator for the sharp-tongued criticism that an analyst at Deutsche Bank expressed about the state of the German financial center. This is reported by the financial news agency Bloomberg. In the hot phase of the election campaign, the head of Germany’s largest bank is trying to avoid tension with politics, insiders said.
In a report on the state of the German financial industry this week, Deutsche Bank analyst Jan Schildbach questioned the qualifications of the supervisors and described Germany’s state pension system as having failed. Neither he nor Deutsche Bank shared these views, Sewing made it clear to officials, and informed people report.
The extraordinary apology illustrates how delicate the bank’s relationship with the supervisory authority is and how important it is to have a good relationship with the next federal government – not least with Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) as currently the most promising candidate to succeed Angela Merkel (CDU).
A spokeswoman for the Bafin declined to comment. Likewise, the analyst Schildbach. Deutsche Bank did not want to say anything about its contacts with the authorities either. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a Bloomberg request via email.
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In an international comparison, the German financial sector has actually fallen behind over the past decade. Schildbach’s report is no longer available, but a summary sent by e-mail on Tuesday gave the following examples of the need for reform:
- At sight: “The large number of scandals indicate deficits in the supervisory culture, employee qualifications and choice of location.”
- Structure: “The rigid three-pillar system is now almost alone internationally. It hinders consolidation and favors foreign banks. “
- Steer: “Profits from corporations are taxed at 30 percent in this country, the international average only at 22 percent.”
- Europe: “The fragmentation of the EU capital markets has increased further as a result of Brexit. Many banking regulations are also still being applied and monitored nationally. “
- Retirement provision: “The Riester pension has failed, although private provision is becoming more and more urgent. Instead of expanding the funding of capital investments, the state has cut it. “
At the Handelsblatt banking summit at the beginning of September, Sewing declared that he was completely in line with the Ministry of Finance with regard to the completion of the European banking union. Scholz knows exactly that the implementation of stricter capital requirements for banks requires a nuanced view of the German economy, Sewing said in the discussion.
The money house and its research department had also publicly distanced themselves on Wednesday “from the criticism of supervisory authorities and political decision-makers, which was inappropriate in content and form, which was expressed in the study”. The study was not authorized by the management of Deutsche Bank Research, said a spokesman in an email.
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