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Banks as lenders play an essential role in moving the economy towards more sustainability, because they decide which companies receive fresh funds and which do not.
Savings banks pay too little interest?
Recently, the savings banks have come under criticism because most of them have not yet passed on the higher interest rates charged by the central banks to their private customers. Reuter considers this criticism to be unjustified. In the case of fixed-term deposits with longer maturities, savings banks are now also offering “investments that are impressive,” he said.
Customers should take a close look at newly founded banks that are “out and about with blatant offers” and offer higher overnight interest rates – just like on the market. “Not every fish that is offered is cheap. Sometimes he just has to go.”
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Reuter has headed the Bavarian Savings Banks Association since 2021. Before that, he was district administrator for the CSU in Aschaffenburg for 18 years and in this function he was also a member of the board of directors of Sparkasse Aschaffenburg-Alzenau for several years. Reuter has also gained experience in the private banking sector: from 1993 to 2001 he worked for Deutsche Bank.
Next Monday, at the DSGV general meeting, Reuter is to be officially elected as the successor to Helmut Schleweis, whose term of office expires at the end of the year. As President of the largest German financial association, the Bavarian would then have great influence in politics and the public.
DSGV boss must organize majorities
However, the savings bank organization is not a hierarchically managed group. If Reuter wants to achieve something, he has to organize majorities within the finance group. Most officials trust him more than the Westphalian savings bank president Liane Buchholz, who had also applied for the office.
Buchholz is technically better than Reuter, says someone who votes on Monday. But: “We choose the one who is more communicative.” Another companion describes Reuter as someone who does not polarize and approaches decisions soberly.
Appropriately, Reuter has so far held back on the controversial topic of consolidation – in complete contrast to Schlewei. The current DSGV boss has repeatedly spoken out in favor of merging the four large state banks and Deka into one central institute.
He failed, however, mainly because of resistance from politics. In addition to the savings banks, the respective federal states are also involved in the state banks. Reuter obviously has little desire, like his predecessor, to campaign for mergers among state banks – and thus also to fail.
All Landesbanken are currently making money and are sustainable from the point of view of their owners, he said. “From a Bavarian point of view, I currently have nothing to add.” In addition, Reuter referred to statements by Schleweis, “that it is not in the power of a DSGV President to promote mergers there because the decision lies with the owners”.
Changes to the CV cause criticism
After all, there has recently been progress with insurers and state building societies (LBS) in the hands of savings banks. This is how LBS Bayern and LBS Südwest go together.
He had a “great experience” with Reuter during the merger, praises the Baden-Württemberg savings bank president Peter Schneider. Reuter describes himself as “loving results”, said Schneider: “We need that!”
However, Reuter had caused irritation because he had his Wikipedia entry changed. There, the Bavarian Savings Banks Association first tightened a few points and deleted the fact that the doctorate in law had left high school with a secondary school leaving certificate. This change was apparently later withdrawn – according to the association by someone from the Wikipedia community. The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported first.
Reuter said he stood by his CV. “I’m proud of my career via second chance education.” He made a change in the presentation of his professor’s title in his CV because he had been signaled from outside “that some things could be misunderstood. We have made that clear.”
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