751-Sabar Institute Of Management, Tajpur - Gujarat Technological ...

German banks function as universal banks, able to offer a full range of banking, saving, foreign
exchange, and investment services to their depositors and clients. They hold funds or other
assets, broker securities, underwrite equity issues, give advice on asset placement, and manage
accounts, and so on. About one-quarter of German banks are commercial. Most of the remainder
are savings banks, mainly owned locally or regionally and operating under public statutes, or
cooperatives that perform such specialized services as agricultural, crafts, or mortgage lending.
Martin Blessing, the CEO at Germany’s No. 2 bank, offered candid insights on Europe, his
career, and more during a visit to Booth’s London campus in November. The chairman of the
board of managing directors for Commerzbank AG said he was growing more confident the
Eurozone would survive its financial storm. Talking with students in the Executive MBA
Program as well as London-based alumni, Blessing also said he believes the United Kingdom’s
political influence on the continent will wane as it remains apart from the 17-nation alliance.
Blessing shared brunch with Commerzbank employees enrolled in the program before giving a
lunchtime talk open to all students and alumni.
Europe’s struggles made 2012 a rough year for financial institutions, including Frankfurt-based
Commerzbank, which is among Europe’s top 20 banks. The financial giant plans further
investment in its core businesses and predicts a return on equity after taxes of more than 10
percent until 2016. Blessing, Commerzbank chairman since 2008, has seen a lot of change in the
industry and said more lies ahead. He predicted continued consolidation, which will have
implications for global growth and jobs in the financial industry. A reshuffling of the industry is
likely in the next five years.
German public banks
Public banks in Germany are financial institutes, typically held directly or indirectly by the
public sector, e.g. the federal government, the states, administrative districts or cities. Not all
companies are fully publicly owned. They can also be defined as public by providing services
out of a public interest.
The public banks are represented through the Association of German Public Sector Banks as one
of the leading associations in the German banking industry. The association counts 34 ordinary
members, but to distinguish the different groups of public banks it is important to know, that the
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