The Top 100 banks in Germany 2005: The climbers

Mergers and acquisitions in particular are producing changes in the rankings of the biggest German banks. Examples are the takeovers of Eurohypo, BHW and BHF-Bank by Commerzbank, Postbank and private banker Sal. Oppenheim respectively.

[ Top 100 Table ]

Global player Deutsche Bank remains the uncontested leader of the pack on the German banking market. It performed outstandingly again in 2005, recording dynamic growth that allowed it to increase its total assets to near the € 1,ooo-billion-mark. There is no question that it will top this mark by the end of 2006. Deutsche Bank’s further expansion has received additional momentum from, among other things, the acquisition of Berliner Bank.

There was also some movement within the group of other big banks. Its takeover of Germany’s biggest mortgage bank, Eurohypo AG (total assets: € 234.3 bn), gives Commerzbank (€ 444.9 bn) a powerful boost. It will be the no. 2 bank in Germany in future. This is not shown in the 2005 rankings, however, as the takeover had not yet been recorded on the balance sheet last year.

There was another change in the big bank sector in 2005: HypoVereinsbank took over the no. 2 spot from Dresdner Bank. The cross-border merger between the Munich-based HVB Group and Italy’s UniCredit Group naturally brought the European dimension more to the fore. Thanks to the merger, the new group is now among Europe’s Top 10 banks. In central and eastern Europe, it is actually the clear market leader.

Deutsche Postbank is unmistakably on the way up. Although it currently comes only 16th among the top German banks, its acquisition of BHW means that it will make a big jump in the rankings. The BHW takeover reflects Postbank’s strategy of further strengthening its already strong position in retail banking.

Private bankers: Strong expansion
Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie., the old-established private banker in Cologne, entered a new dimension by taking over BHF-Bank from the ING Group. In doing so, it more than doubled its staff to over 3,000, while assets under administration soared to approx. € 100 billion and total assets increased in 2005 by 173% to around € 32 billion. As a result, Sal. Oppenheim jumped 26 places to 40th. HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt also managed a remarkable climb up the rankings. The Düsseldorf-based private banker presented a gilt-edged balance sheet for financial year 2005 and now comes 56th (previously 63rd) among the Top 1oo banks.

Mobile car finance banks
The direct banks are also demonstrating their growth potential. For instance, DiBa AG, which is part of the Dutch financial group ING, continued its surge up the rankings. After coming 97th in 2002, Europe’s now biggest direct bank had jumped to 27th last year thanks to strong expansion.

The car finance banks are likewise doing well. Following its growth of the past few years, Volkswagen Bank now holds a mid-table ranking (51st). Seven places behind comes another car finance bank: DaimlerChrysler Bank, which has only had a full banking licence for four years.

The Landesbank group, which has dominated places 5–20 in the Top 100 banks for many years, is led by Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (5th), followed by BayernLB. WestLB, which had already slipped down the rankings in 2002 after NRW Bank (17th) was spun off, is now in 9th place.

The number of savings banks continued to decline in 2005, from 477 to 463. With total assets of € 31.8 billion, Hamburger Sparkasse remains the biggest savings bank, in 42nd place, followed by Sparkasse KölnBonn, Kreissparkasse Köln and Nassauische Sparkasse, in 45th, 48th and 55th place respectively. Frankfurter Sparkasse comes 61st.

Copyright: Zeitschrift Die Bank