# Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe ## Basic Info **Name:** Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe (Sparkassen network) **What is it:** A decentralized network of municipally owned public savings banks in Germany. **Who is involved:** Municipal governments (owners and responsible for board appointments) and local public officials (often serve as chairpersons of supervisory boards) **Location:** Germany, with approximately 14,460 branches nationwide **Link:** https://www.dsgv.de/en.html --- ## Entries ### Some context -Germany’s Sparkassen is a network of municipally owned public savings banks. As of 2025, the **Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe** encompasses **343 local institutions**, collectively managing approximately **€2.5 trillion in assets**, and employing about **282,500 people** across roughly **14,460 branches**. This makes it the largest financial services group in Europe by assets. Though often perceived as a unified system, each Sparkasse is **legally independent** and typically operates below the threshold for **direct European Central Bank (ECB) supervision**, remaining under **national regulatory oversight**. Despite their autonomy, Sparkassen are deeply **interconnected** through a series of coordination mechanisms and shared infrastructure. #### Governance Each Sparkasse is governed under public law and is owned by municipalities Governance is closely tied to local politics: county executives frequently chair their supervisory boards, and about 82% of board chairs are elected public officials, who in some states (such as North Rhine-Westphalia) may receive up to 12% of their income in additional compensation ([Veron and Markgraf, 2018](https://www.bruegel.org/blog-post/germanys-savings-banks-uniquely-intertwined-local-politics)). Board members are generally **appointed by municipal councils**, reinforcing the political entanglement. This proximity to political cycles affects operations: empirical studies show an increase in lending before local elections often followed by higher loan underperformance, raising concerns around efficiency, governance and financial resilience. #### Risk-sharing Sparkassen are supported by an Institutional Protection Scheme (IPS recognized under Germany's Deposit Guarantee Act This system, composed of 13 regional guarantee funds and managed by local associations, is designed to safeguard solvency and liquidity across the network, thereby protecting **customer deposits**. While the IPS is publicly presented as a **mutual insurance system**, in practice it operates through ad hoc political negotiations and discretionary support, rather than robust prefunding: by 2022, the IPS held only **€4 billion in reserves**. #### Operational integration Despite their legal and financial independence, Sparkassen collaborate extensively through **shared services**. [Finanz Informatik GmbH](https://www.f-i.de/) functions as the group’s central IT service provider, delivering digital banking solutions and managing infrastructure. Additional support is provided by [DSV-Gruppe](https://www.dsv-gruppe.de/), which oversees marketing, payment systems, and communications, and by [Deutsche Servicegesellschaft für Finanzdienstleister](https://www.dsgf.de/) (DSGF)**, which handles **back-office services**. This operational backbone enables efficiency and consistency across the decentralized network.