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BASEL II: PROBLEMS AND USAGE

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Depending on their legal form, universal banks are further classified<br />

into commercial, savings and mutual cooperative banks. This categorization<br />

is a characteristic feature of the German banking system and is often<br />

referred to as the three-pillar structure. Savings banks are banks which are<br />

owned by the federal, state or local municipalities, whereas mutual cooperative<br />

and commercial banks are privately owned. Mutual cooperative banks<br />

represent the largest sector comprising 60 percent of all banks in Germany<br />

at the end of 2008. In contrast, commercial banks and savings banks constitute<br />

only 14 and 23 percent, respectively.<br />

However, in order to obtain a better insight into the market structure,<br />

the amount of assets per banking sector should also be considered. The savings<br />

banks sector shows the largest share of total assets, accounting for<br />

35 percent of total assets in the German banking system. This significant<br />

amount is a remarkable feature of the German banking structure. The commercial<br />

banks group, despite having the lowest number of banks among all<br />

three sectors, accounts for almost 30 percent of total assets compared to the<br />

cooperative banks sector with the largest number of banks and only 12 percent<br />

share in total assets of the whole banking industry. Due to the large<br />

number of banks and the fact that none of the groups has a significant market<br />

share, the German banking system is frequently described as having a<br />

highly fragmented structure. Figure 1 reflects the structure of the German<br />

banking system.<br />

Assets per Banking Group<br />

Specialized Banks Commercial Banks<br />

23 %<br />

30 %<br />

Number of Banks per Banking Group<br />

Specialized Banks<br />

3 %<br />

Commercial Banks<br />

14 %<br />

Mutual<br />

Cooperative<br />

Banks<br />

12 %<br />

Savings Banks<br />

35 %<br />

Mutual Cooperative Banks<br />

60 %<br />

Savings Banks<br />

23 %<br />

Figure 1. Number of Banks and Assets per Banking Group, 2007<br />

2.1. Commercial Banks<br />

Within the group of commercial banks, three categories are distinguished,<br />

so called big banks, regional banks, and branches of foreign<br />

banks. Four big commercial banks include Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank,<br />

14

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