The German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG)
Banking regulations
The German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG) governs
the business activities of banks, financial services institutes,
and other legal forms that are active in the finance sector. The
Banking Act pursues three goals:
– Ensuring structured business transactions in the financial
sector under state supervision
– Ensuring a functioning banking industry
– Protecting bank creditors against losses
Banks, financial services institutions, and insurers in Germany
are governed by a state regulator, the Federal Financial Supervi-
sory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht
– BaFin). BaFin functions under the auspices of the German
Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesministerium der Finanzen –
BMF).
Its main objectives are as follows:
– To ensure proper functioning, stability, and integrity of the
German financial system (the prime objective),
– to ensure that banks, financial services institutions, and insur-
ers are able to meet their payment obligations, and
– to enforce standards of professional conduct which preserve
investors’ confdence in the financial markets.
EU Forecast
euf:ba18f:39/nws-01