Deposit protection

The Deposit Protection Fund of the Association of German Banks fully secures the deposits of each and every customer at the private commercial banks up to a ceiling of 30% of the relevant liable capital of each bank as at the date of the last published annual financial statements. This protection extends to all deposits held by "non-banking institutions", i.e. deposits held by private individuals, business enterprises and public bodies. The deposits protected are for the main part demand, term and savings deposits and registered savings certificates. Liabilities in respect of which bearer instruments such as bearer bonds and bearer certificates of deposit have been issued by a bank are not protected. For almost all depositors, this deposit protection concept means virtually full protection for all deposits at private commercial banks. Even in the case of small banks with capital of €5 million, amounts up to €1.5 million per depositor are fully protected. As a rule, the amount protected is in fact considerably higher. On request, the Association of German Banks is pleased to advise any interested parties of the current deposit protection ceiling of a member bank. An inquiry about the ceiling can also be sent via the association's website at www.bankenverband.de . In the event that a bank ceases to participate in the Deposit Protection Fund, provision has been made for depositors to be informed in good time so that they can make appropriate arrangements while still enjoying deposit protection. Furthermore, deposits are protected until the next due date, i.e. possibly well beyond the date on which a bank's participation in the fund ends.

Alongside the Deposit Protection Fund, there exists a statutory deposit protection scheme, the "Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken" [Compensation Scheme of German Banks, EdB], which was set up in 1998. The EdB performs the tasks of the compensation scheme called for under the German Deposit Guarantee and Investor Compensation Act for the area of the private commercial banks and private building and loan associations. The protection provided by the EdB is limited to 90% of deposits and the equivalent €20,000 per depositor. The Deposit Protection Fund only covers deposits and depositors if and to the extent that these are not already covered by the EdB.