Germany edition

Banking

The following articles have been tagged with "Banking":

China doesn't want to 'buy Europe'

Business & Money: 3 Feb 12
As German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrapped up her visit to China on Friday, the Asian giant’s leaders promised they had no intention to "buy Europe," amid concerns over growing Chinese investment in debt-stricken eurozone economies. READ »

Deutsche Bank profits fall as debt crisis bites

Business & Money: 2 Feb 12
Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest bank reported Thursday a bigger-than-expected drop in earnings at the end of last year as the eurozone sovereign debt crisis hurt business. READ »

Merkel urges China to press Iran over nukes

Politics: 2 Feb 12
German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Beijing Thursday to put pressure on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme as she began an official visit to China on Thursday. READ »

Banks 'stashing money in fear of meltdown'

Business & Money: 19 Jan 12
Germany’s economy is still in the danger zone, with banks stockpiling money in the European Central Bank (ECB) instead of lending it, Jürgen Fitschen, next in line to lead Deutsche Bank, warned on Thursday. READ »

Merkel, Sarkozy vow to solve eurozone crisis

Business & Money: 9 Jan 12
The leaders of Germany and France put aside their differences on a controversial tax of financial market transactions and promised to speed up various measures to ease the eurozone crisis, as the euro flirted with new market lows Monday. READ »

Ex-Chancellor Schröder's wife enters politics

Politics: 9 Jan 12
The wife of former Chancellor Gehard Schröder will enter politics in her own right, it was reported on Monday – she intends to run for a seat in the Lower Saxony state parliament in the 2013 state election. READ »

German banks abandon US customers

Business & Money: 15 Dec 11
German banks are closing US customers’ investment accounts because they say financial reporting requirements from American authorities are just too onerous. READ »

Commerzbank beefs up financial situation

Business & Money: 14 Dec 11
Commerzbank, Germany's second-biggest bank needing €5.3 billion in fresh funds, said Wednesday a repurchase of securities will beef up its core capital by more than €700 million. READ »

Berlin minister resigns after 11 days in office

Politics: 12 Dec 11
Berlin’s newly sworn-in Justice and Consumer Affairs Minister Michael Braun has been forced to step down following revelations about bad property deals during his previous job as notary. READ »

Cops search for more anarchist letter bombs

National: 9 Dec 11
Police on Friday were still searching for explosive packages after an Italian far-left group claimed responsibility for a letter bomb sent to Deutsche Bank's CEO and said that others were in the post. READ »

Commerzbank shares tank massively

Business & Money: 23 Nov 11
Shares in Germany's second-biggest bank Commerzbank have plunged 15 percent to a historic low on fears that it may need far more capital than once thought to meet EU requirements. READ »

The ins and outs of buying property

Lifestyle: 18 Nov 11
Germany might have avoided the recent global real estate bubble, but buying a flat can still be a confusing and expensive endeavour. Joe Morgan looks into mortgages and other property pitfalls. READ »

Deutsche Bank pays $145 mln to settle US suit

Business & Money: 15 Nov 11
German banking giant Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay US regulators $145 million (€106 million) to settle charges that they misled credit unions about the risks of mortgage-backed securities that later collapsed. READ »

Bundesbank sees increasing risks for German banks

Business & Money: 10 Nov 11
Risks for German banks from the eurozone debt crisis are increasing, but recent efforts to strengthen capital resources meant those risks were still manageable, the Bundesbank said Thursday. READ »

Economy seen slowing sharply next year

Business & Money: 9 Nov 11
The eurozone debt crisis looks set to slam the brakes on growth next year in the German economy, Europe's biggest, a panel of economic advisors to the government warned on Wednesday. READ »

Commerzbank ditches targets on Greek losses

Business & Money: 4 Nov 11
Germany's second-biggest bank Commerzbank abandoned on Friday its profit target for next year after writedowns on its Greek bond holdings pushed it deeply into the red in the third quarter. READ »

Gabriel demands G20 set new economic course

Politics: 3 Nov 11
Sigmar Gabriel, head of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, has joined two other centre-left European leaders, Britain’s Ed Miliband and Sweden’s Hakan Juholt, ahead of the G20 summit to call for a "New Deal" for the world economy. READ »

French bonds hit record gap amid crisis

Business & Money: 3 Nov 11
The gap between German and French sovereign borrowing rates widened to a record on Thursday and the 10-year cost of borrowing for Italy reached a record briefly above 6.402 percent. READ »

Greek referendum plan shakes financial markets

Business & Money: 1 Nov 11
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s shock decision to hold a referendum on the EU's bailout deal has drawn angry reactions from Germany’s financial sector. The DAX stock index plunged by six percent in midday trading. READ »

Merkel to join crisis talks on Greek vote threat

Politics: 1 Nov 11
The leaders of France and Germany will meet the head of the IMF, top European officials and Greek representatives on Wednesday after Greece's shock referendum decision, a joint Franco-German statement said. READ »

'Occupy Frankfurt' protestors highlight inequality

Politics: 29 Oct 11
As up to 5,000 “Occupy Frankfurt“ protestors were expected in the German finance capital on Saturday, Spencer Kimball spoke to some of the people camped out there. READ »

Merkel pleased by euro debt solution

Business & Money: 27 Oct 11
German Chancellor Merkel said she was happy that eurozone members agreed to leverage the bailout fund to €1 trillion and banks accepted a 50 percent loss on Greek debt in order to overcome the continent’s debt crisis. READ »

Police arrest 13 in strike against international phishing gang

National: 26 Oct 11
Berlin police smashed an international computer “phishing” gang accused of stealing at least €1.3 million from at least 1,000 computers having taken details of people’s bank accounts and using them to transfer money. READ »

Deutsche Bank sees drop in profit, not confidence

Business & Money: 25 Oct 11
Germany's top lender Deutsche Bank announced Tuesday a 37-percent drop in third quarter profits due to the financial downturn but said it was confident it could face the economic crisis without public capital. READ »

Eurozone rescue plan to lean on banks

Business & Money: 24 Oct 11
Eurozone crisis talks in Brussels over the weekend took small steps towards agreement, it emerged on Monday morning, as negotiations continued to put details to Germany’s parliament by the end of the day. READ »

Merkel sees bigger Greek debt write down

Politics: 21 Oct 11
Chancellor Angela Merkel has told her party there will likely be an increase in the write down of Greek debt, while trying to play down reports of disagreements with France over the European debt crisis. READ »

Berlin and Paris make new euro rescue bid

Politics: 20 Oct 11
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet Saturday to prepare a "global and ambitious answer" to the eurozone crisis ahead two key EU summits, they said in a statement issued in Paris. READ »

Deutsche Bank London headquarters raided

Business & Money: 19 Oct 11
Deutsche Bank’s London headquarters were raided by EU investigators Wednesday, after reports that Europe’s leading banks have been manipulating interest rates. READ »

Anti-capitalist protesters set up tent cities

National: 17 Oct 11
As demonstrations critical of capitalism sweep through Germany, activists have set up tent-cities in Frankfurt and Hamburg, vowing to stay as long as they can. READ »

Deutsche Bank considers cutting Greek debt in half

Business & Money: 17 Oct 11
The head of Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, is conducting talks over a 50-percent write-down of Greek debt in his capacity as chairman of the global banking lobby, a newspaper reported Monday. READ »

SPD calls for bank split

Business & Money: 17 Oct 11
Social Democratic Party (SPD) head Sigmar Gabriel has called for a permanent division of investment and commercial banking to protect consumers from toxic debts run up by banks. The German government quickly rejected the idea. READ »

Occupy Wall Street comes to Germany

National: 15 Oct 11
Thousands of demonstrators joined the "Occupy Wall Street" movement in several German cities on Saturday, protesting against the global financial system. Similar demonstrations took place around the world. READ »

Deutsche Bank lined up for credit downgrade

Business & Money: 14 Oct 11
Credit rating agency Fitch has downgraded two German banks and is conducting a comprehensive review of other banks, including Deutsche Bank, with a view to reducing their ratings too. READ »

Stolen data to be used to prosecute tax dodgers

National: 14 Oct 11
Germany will prosecute tax fraudsters using stolen data it bought about its citizens who secretly deposited assets in HSBC bank in Luxembourg, the Financial Times Deutschland will report Friday. READ »

Crisis to slow economy sharply next year

National: 13 Oct 11
The eurozone debt crisis will have a major impact on Germany next year, the country's leading economic institutes said on Thursday, with Europe's top economy likely to only narrowly escape recession. READ »

Merkel predicts bailout ratification

Business & Money: 12 Oct 11
German Chancellor Angela Merkel predicted Wednesday a eurozone bailout fund would be ratified this month despite rejection by Slovakia, and said all of Europe must help fight the crisis. READ »

German bank group rejects higher Greek debt write-down

Business & Money: 11 Oct 11
The head of Germany's banking federation has announced that banks should accept the 21-percent loss on Greek debt repayment before further measures are discussed to ease the eurozone crisis. READ »

Aldi dynasty continue to lead German rich list

Business & Money: 10 Oct 11
The best business to get into in Germany seems to be discount supermarkets - the owners of Aldi, Lidl and Kaufland again top the list of the country’s richest people. READ »

Schröder offers plan to save Europe

Politics: 10 Oct 11
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has called for radical moves to be made to save Europe from its growing financial crisis in what he calls his “Agenda 2012.” READ »

Merkel and Sarkozy agree to bolster Europe's banks

Politics: 9 Oct 11
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that Paris and Berlin agreed Europe had to shore up its banks amid the ongoing sovereign debt crisis. READ »

Rösler tells Greeks stability crucial to calm debt turbulence

Business & Money: 7 Oct 11
German Economy Minister Philipp Rösler called for more stability in the eurozone to deal with debt turbulence as Greece pledged to fully repay its bailout loans on Friday. READ »

Book publisher challenges Amazon by launching a €40 e-reader

Business & Money: 6 Oct 11
A German book publisher is challenging Amazon and other electronic book makers by releasing a no-frills e-reader which undercuts the Kindle by nearly €40 euros. READ »

Deutsche Bank to miss profit target

Business & Money: 4 Oct 11
Germany's largest bank - Deutsche Bank - said on Tuesday it would miss its profit target for the current year in face of financial market turbulence. READ »

Bailout expansion clears final hurdle in Bundesrat

National: 30 Sep 11
The EU's beefed-up eurozone bailout fund cleared its final hurdle in Germany Friday when the upper house of parliament backed the move to help debt-ridden countries. READ »

Cabinet approves tax deal on money hidden in Switzerland

Business & Money: 21 Sep 11
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved a double-taxation deal with Switzerland on Wednesday, aiming to end a long-standing dispute over tax and banking secrecy. READ »

Siemens said to move French bank cash to ECB

Business & Money: 20 Sep 11
German industrial giant Siemens refused on Tuesday to comment on a newspaper report that it had withdrawn about half a billion euros in cash from a French bank and parked it at the European Central Bank. READ »

Credit Suisse ends tax probe with €150 mln

Business & Money: 19 Sep 11
Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse said on Monday that it has reached a deal with German authorities to end a tax evasion probe, and that it would pay €150 million ($205 million) to settle the case. READ »

Schäuble pressures Greece to tackle debt

Business & Money: 8 Sep 11
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble on Thursday warned of "worrying news" coming from the eurozone and said Greece must fulfil the conditions required if it wants more help to combat its debt crisis. READ »

Deutsche CEO attacks IMF over recapitalisation

Business & Money: 5 Sep 11
The CEO of Germany's leading bank, Deutsche Bank's Josef Ackermann, on Monday attacked the head of the IMF for suggesting banks should boost their capital to offset dangers relating to the eurozone debt crisis. READ »

Deutsche Bank mulling major job cuts

Business & Money: 2 Sep 11
Deutsche Bank is reportedly developing emergency plans for what to do if the economy worsens - including saving up to €2 billion by cutting jobs in investment banking. READ »

Public deficit drops to three-year low

Business & Money: 1 Sep 11
Germany announced on Thursday a drop in its public finance deficit to 0.6 percent during the first half of the year, the lowest level since early 2008. READ »

Frankfurt dubbed Germany’s crime capital

National: 29 Aug 11
Frankfurt has been declared the most dangerous city in Germany according to still unreleased crime statistics for 2010, which apparently show the city had the largest number of murder and manslaughter cases per 100,000 residents. READ »

US prosecutors: Deutsche Bank was aware of mortgage fraud

Business & Money: 24 Aug 11
Germany's Deutsche Bank was aware of fraud being committed by a US subsidiary that issued thousands of bad mortgages before the 2008 financial crisis, US prosecutors have alleged. READ »

Finance industry blasts proposed tax

Business & Money: 17 Aug 11
Financial sector players wasted no time on Wednesday in slamming a mooted financial transactions tax, saying it would push business to rival global centres and be hard to enforce. READ »

Sarkozy and Merkel plan eurozone government

Politics: 16 Aug 11
France's Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany's Angela Merkel vowed to give the eurozone bloc a "true economic government" Tuesday, but experts said their pledges were not enough to defuse the debt crisis. READ »

Swiss banks pay €1.9bn to German taxman

Business & Money: 10 Aug 11
Swiss banks will pay nearly €2 billion to German tax authorities under a deal reached Wednesday between Bern and Berlin to end a long-standing tax evasion and banking secrecy dispute. READ »

Commerzbank profit hit by Greek holdings

Business & Money: 10 Aug 11
Germany's second biggest bank, Commerzbank, warned Wednesday that its prospects this year and next depend on the eurozone debt crisis which, savaged its earnings and has rocked markets. READ »

Eurozone scrambles to calm investors

Business & Money: 8 Aug 11
Germany and other world economic powers scrambled late on Sunday to shore up confidence in global financial markets with pledges to do whatever was necessary to protect the euro currency and stem the debt crisis. READ »

Sending money abroad? Time to ditch your bank

Business & Money: 28 Jul 11
If you’re an expat who uses your bank to transfer money abroad, you’ll know that extortionate fees and bad exchange rates can leave a big hole in your pocket. Using a currency specialist can cut these costs dramatically. Here is how. READ »

Deutsche Bank unveils leadership duo

Business & Money: 26 Jul 11
Deutsche Bank on Monday named a canny Indian investment banker and a German veteran of the old school to run the biggest German bank in tandem from May 2012. READ »

ECB says Greek bond purchase plan plausible

Business & Money: 20 Jul 11
The European Central Bank's German chief economist said Wednesday that a proposal for an EU rescue fund to buy Greek bonds might work but that markets would likely still feel Athens had defaulted on its debt. READ »

Merkel meets Sarkozy ahead of Euro summit

Politics: 20 Jul 11
Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday evening in a hastily-arranged meeting a day before the European summit which will look at formulating a second rescue package for Greece. READ »

Bank stress tests slammed as ideological

Business & Money: 16 Jul 11
The head of the Confederation of German Trade Unions has described the European Bank Authority's decision not to count silent participations, favoured by state banks, as core capital in its stress tests as ideologically motivated. READ »

Bank fails EU stress test

Business & Money: 15 Jul 11
The only German bank that would have failed a European Union stress test, Helaba, decided it would not accept a disputed method used for the review and published its own results separately on Friday. READ »

Deutsche Bank sued over financial crisis losses

Business & Money: 15 Jul 11
French-Belgian bank Dexia is suing Deutsche Bank for more than $1 billion in losses caused by dodgy mortgage backed securities that imploded during the 2008 financial crisis. READ »

IMF urges 'locomotive' Germany to pull Europe

Business & Money: 12 Jul 11
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday forecast 3.2 percent growth for Germany this year but said it was failing to act as an economic locomotive for Europe because of low domestic demand. READ »

Indian exec touted as next Deutsche Bank boss

Business & Money: 11 Jul 11
Anshu Jain, the 48-year-old Indian head of Deutsche Bank investment banking, is tipped to be named co-chief executive of the German bank, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported Monday. READ »

Former Bundesbank boss Weber to lead UBS

Business & Money: 1 Jul 11
Swiss banking giant UBS said Friday it is planning for former German central bank chief Axel Weber to take over as its next chairman, saying that he will be nominated to the board in 2012 before taking over the top post in 2013. READ »

Merkel tells bankers to help bailout Greece

Business & Money: 29 Jun 11
German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday called on bankers to help bailout Greece, saying they "should lend a hand" to eurozone governments trying to hammer out a new rescue package for the debt-ridden country. READ »

Banks demand incentives to back Greek bailout

Business & Money: 21 Jun 11
German banks indicated on Tuesday they want incentives before agreeing to take part in a bailout of Greece, saying they have €10 billion to €20 billion invested in the country's bonds. READ »

Bundesbank boosts 2011 growth forecast

Business & Money: 10 Jun 11
The German Bundesbank on Friday raised its growth forecast for this year to 3.1 percent for Europe's biggest economy, up from a previous expectation of 2.5 percent. READ »

CDU sinks behind Greens in Bremen state election

Politics: 22 May 11
The Greens for the first time on Sunday overtook the conservatives in a state election in Germany, according to exit polls made public in the wake of the Bremen vote. READ »

Schäuble backs Lagarde for IMF top job

National: 21 May 11
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble backs his French counterpart Christine Lagarde as the EU candidate to head the International Monetary Fund, it was reported Saturday. READ »

Deutsche Bank quarterly profit surges

Business & Money: 28 Apr 11
Deutsche Bank, the biggest German bank, posted on Wednesday the second-best quarterly profit in its history, owing in large part to recent acquisitions. READ »

Hamburg company hopes kites will make shipping greener

Science & Technology: 15 Apr 11
A Hamburg-based company is producing giant kites to help power sea vessels and save fuel, hoping to harness not just the wind but a new will for energy efficiency. READ »

BDI head criticises bank pay policies

Business & Money: 2 Apr 11
The head of the Federation of German Industry (BDI) Hans Peter Keitel has sharply criticised the banking sector for what he called catastrophic exaggerations in what some managers are paid. READ »

Navigating the pitfalls of job etiquette

Society: 24 Mar 11
Knowing German workplace etiquette can make or break your career. Jeff Kavanagh spends a day on the job. READ »

DKB-Cash: Banking in Germany made easy

Business & Money: 6 Mar 11
If you live your life between Germany and another country, finding an account to suit your needs can be hard. The award-winning DKB-Cash account is specially designed to meet the needs of clients with international lifestyles. READ »

DKB-Cash: Banking in Germany made easy

Business & Money: 3 Mar 11
If you live your life between Germany and another country, finding an account to suit your needs can be hard. The award-winning DKB-Cash account is specially designed to meet the needs of clients with international lifestyles. READ »

Expert warns of free internet hotspot fakers

Science & Technology: 27 Feb 11
Using free wireless internet hotspots should only be done carefully, and never to conduct sensitive business, a computer security expert warned on Sunday. READ »

'Ethical' banks booming

Business & Money: 15 Feb 11
Morality and money aren’t always compatible, but a new breed of "ethical" banks in Germany are building a successful new business model that is showing they can be. READ »

Germany could trade euro funding for thrift

Business & Money: 16 Jan 11
European heavyweight Germany might back a revamped eurozone rescue fund, but demand a stiff price from partners in the form of tighter economic controls, media and analysts say. READ »

Commerzbank to boost capital

Business & Money: 13 Jan 11
Commerzbank, the second-biggest German bank, said on Thursday it would raise its capital by 10 percent to strengthen core capital in line with tougher international regulations. READ »

Carmakers aim for big gains in US market

Business & Money: 11 Jan 11
German auto makers, lagging behind their American, Japanese and Korean competitors, are hoping for big gains from this month's Detroit auto show, which is pointing to a full recovery of the US market. READ »

Germany denies pushing Portugal towards bailout

Business & Money: 10 Jan 11
Germany has denied planning to press Portugal to seek a bailout in order to stop Spain and Belgium from becoming the next euro debt crisis casualties. READ »

Brüderle slams business conditions in China

Business & Money: 6 Jan 11
German Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle on Thursday slammed business conditions for Western firms operating in China ahead of a visit to Berlin by the country's vice premier Li Keqiang. READ »

Ex-BayernLB exec behind Formula 1 deal arrested

Business & Money: 5 Jan 11
A former executive at Bavaria’s state-backed bank BayernLB was arrested on Wednesday under suspicion of fraud, tax evasion and taking bribes related to dealings with Formula 1 racing boss Bernie Ecclestone. READ »

Taxman recovers €1.6 bln from Alpine accounts

Business & Money: 20 Dec 10
German tax authorities have reportedly recovered €1.6 billion this year from citizens who had stashed their cash in secret accounts in Liechtenstein and Switzerland. READ »

WikiLeaks sponsor in trouble with the taxman

National: 7 Dec 10
A major WikiLeaks donor is in trouble in Germany for not filing its accounts on time, but tax authorities insisted Tuesday this was unrelated to its ties to the controversial web organisation. READ »

Authorities scramble to improve winter driving conditions

National: 24 Nov 10
Winter is setting in, with more snow and sleet expected in coming days, meanwhile authorities scramble to secure de-icing salt supplies and tighten lax winter tyre rules. READ »

Euro at stake in Ireland bailout, Schäuble says

Business & Money: 23 Nov 10
Germany's finance minister said on Tuesday the fate of the shared European currency was on the line in the proposed bailout of debt-stricken Ireland. READ »

Schäuble defends Ireland euro bailout

Business & Money: 22 Nov 10
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has insisted Germany’s economy is safe despite the announcement that fellow euro zone member Ireland has asked for an international bailout of nearly €100 billion. READ »

Brüderle: EU can't 'throw money' at debt crisis

Business & Money: 16 Nov 10
German Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle warned on Tuesday that the EU cannot simply "throw money" at the spiralling debt crisis within the 16-nation eurozone. READ »

Adidas creates new brand to tap youth fashion market

Business & Money: 15 Nov 10
German sports apparel giant Adidas said Monday it hoped to win sales of more than €1 billion with a new brand aimed at the lucrative 12 to 19-year-old market that is already being launched in Asia. READ »

Architect seeks to rebuild historic core of Königsberg

Society: 27 Oct 10
An architect in the Russian enclave Kaliningrad is trying to rally support for plans to restore the historic centre of what was once the East Prussian city of Königsberg to its pre-war splendour. READ »

Germany becomes tax haven for the Swiss

National: 27 Oct 10
Switzerland's banks have long been popular among German tax dodgers, but it turns out that an increasing number of Swiss citizens are hiding their money at southern German financial institutions, according to a media report Wednesday. READ »

Deutsche Bank books loss from Postbank buy

Business & Money: 27 Oct 10
Germany's largest bank, Deutsche Bank, posted Wednesday a sharp third-quarter loss linked to its purchase of Postbank, although underlying results were not quite as bad. READ »

Top German firms ban Facebook in the office

Science & Technology: 24 Oct 10
A host of leading German companies are banning the use of the social networking site Facebook in their offices. While the official reason is IT security, firms are apparently also concerned that too many worker hours are being lost. READ »

Allianz fills war chest to buy insurance firms

Business & Money: 4 Oct 10
German insurer Allianz has set aside a €1 billion ($1.37 billion) for future acquisitions but will take its time and shop carefully, chief executive Michael Diekmann said on Monday. READ »

Germany's hearts fear: Is the welfare system too harsh?

Analysis & Opinion: 27 Sep 10
Heartless or sensible? The announcement of a meagre €5-per-month rise in long-term unemployment benefits touches the core of Germany's identity as a welfare state, according to papers in The Local's Media Roundup on Monday. READ »

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