DZ Bank
DZ Bank AG German Central Cooperative Bank, Frankfurt am Main ( official spelling: DZ BANK ), headquartered in Frankfurt am Main is responsible within the cooperative financial sector as the central institution for more than 900 credit unions. In addition, DZ Bank is a commercial bank for corporate clients as well as for institutional from home and abroad. Wolfgang Kirsch is since September 2006 the Chairman of the DZ Bank AG.
DZ Bank Group operates as a Group with total assets of 407 billion euros the fourth largest German credit institution with 28 227 employees.
History
The roots of the DZ Bank stretch back to 1883. At that time, the Hessian Darlehnskassen associations created with the Agricultural Cooperative Bank, Darmstadt, its own regional central bank. The Institute, which was founded as a public company, caused a liquidity adjustment among the rural credit cooperatives. Successor of the Agricultural Cooperative Bank in 1913, the State Farmers Checkout Rhine -Main -Neckar, Frankfurt am Main. In addition to the State Farmers Checkout Rhine -Main -Neckar originated in southwest Germany to or after the turn of the century other regional central cooperative banks.
Parallel to the establishment of the Agricultural Cooperative Bank, the Prussian Zentralgenossenschaftskasse ( Prussia office) was established as a public institution with headquarters in Berlin, at the initiative of the Prussian Finance Minister Johannes von Miquel 1895. The Prussians checkout was the Central Institute for numerous regional cooperative central banks that had arisen previously in the southeast and east, in the middle and northern Germany. The new bank made this regional association funds to invest excess liquidity against adequate interest or to raise additional funds at reasonable interest rates. With the expansion of their business area was renamed in 1932 in German Zentralgenossenschaftskasse ( Germany Checkout ) located in the east of Berlin. The Institute was rebuilt after the Second World War in Frankfurt am Main as the German Cooperative Fund ( DGK ) and 1975 renamed DG Bank German cooperative bank.
In the 1980s, the DG Bank merged with several regional central banks. Also central cooperative banks in the southwest of Germany and in Frankfurt merged 1970-1978, among other things to the southwest German Cooperative Central Bank AG, Frankfurt ( SGZ - Bank) and GZB - Bank Co-operative Central Bank AG, Stuttgart.
The DG Bank was privatized in 1998 on the basis of the DG Bank - conversion law and converted into a public limited company. The SGZ-Bank and the GZB - Bank merged 2000 GZ -Bank AG, Frankfurt / Stuttgart. 2001 DG Bank merged with the GZ- Bank to today's DZ Bank.
In 2008, talks were resumed with WGZ Bank and written by both institutes a letter of intent, which WGZ Bank is to be merged until the early summer of 2009 with retroactive effect from 1 January 2009 to DZ Bank. On 1 April 2009, the two institutions have indicated that they would not currently track their merger talks continue.
Operations
DZ Bank is the central institution for more than 900 people, cooperative banks, Sparda banks, PSD banks and other cooperative banks with 12,000 branches. In this function, the DZ Bank is supporting the cooperative banks with services such as cash compensation and the provision of funds for refinancing as well as a range of modern banking products.
Besides its function as the central institution in the cooperative banking sector, the DZ Bank is a commercial bank for corporate customers and institutional from home and abroad. Here, the DZ Bank investment banking, for risk management products, (re -) financing, structured finance, corporate finance and research.
DZ Bank also acts as a holding company for composite companies in the DZ Bank Group. Among the most important investments in specialized institutions include the building society Schwäbisch Hall, DG Hyp German Cooperatives mortgage bank, DZ Private Bank SA in Luxembourg, the VR Leasing AG as well as the R V Versicherung, the team bank that sells the product easy credit, and the Union Asset Management. Through its subsidiary equens DZ Bank handles the payment of credit unions, the settlement of securities transactions running on the participation dwpbank German securities services bank. Through its participation in the CardProcess DZ Bank supports the credit unions in the handling of credit card business and the electronic payment.
Headquarters of the DZ Bank in Frankfurt am Main is the built by the architect firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates 1990-1993 208 -meter tower Westend Straße 1 with a halo, also called Kronenhochhaus jutting nearly 20 feet above the ground plan of the building. At the Pariser Platz in Berlin is located a few blocks from the former site of the " Prussian Zentralgenossenschaftskasse " an establishment. The 2001 built until 1996 and designed by the architect Frank O. Gehry building has a futuristic sculpture space inside and a fishy domed glass roof. In addition to various locations in Germany DZ Bank also maintains branch offices in New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong.
DZ Bank also has one of the most important collections of contemporary art photography, which today includes over 6,000 works by more than 550 artists. In the Art Foyer DZ Bank, which offers regular tours, as well as in external exhibitions DZ Bank opens its photo collection to the public.
The foundation of DZ Bank AG promotes science, research and teaching at universities and colleges as well as research projects and outstanding scientific papers that have a direct connection with the bank or co-operative movement.
In 2005, the DZ Bank was involved in a credit to the state Kazakh company Kazatomprom. With the loan of 150 million U.S. dollars to finance the production and mining of natural uranium concentrate and the uranium mining credit guarantor LLP Mining Company should be supported. Furthermore involved in the deal were Calyon, Crédit Suisse, Mizuho Corporate, Bank Ederland, Société Générale, BCV, DekaBank Girozentrale German, Austrian Erste Bank der Sparkassen AG and Rothsсhild.
Employee representation
Since privatization in 1998, DZ Bank has a Central Works Council and local councils, previously on staff councils. Published in 2010 the Frankfurt council calling from Republic Square - lessons from the banking crisis with proposals for the prevention of renewed banking crises.
Dispute with Kaupthing Bank after its insolvency
DZ Bank, until October 2008, the Clearing Bank of the insolvent Icelandic Kaupthing Bank. In her role as account- of Kaupthing Edge Germany, they distrained on 8 October 2008, even before the moratorium BaFin, € 55 million balance in the clearing account to use their own assets. On the legal status of money, there are different information. Because of this attachment is the DZ Bank in dispute with Kaupthing Bank.
The annual result of DZ Bank Group in 2007 was approximately € 900 million, while the Institute made a loss of € about one billion in 2008.
Significant investments
- Building society Schwäbisch Hall AG, Schwäbisch Hall
- DG Hyp German Cooperative Mortgage Bank AG, Hamburg
- DVB Bank SE, Frankfurt am Main
- Dwpbank German Securities Bank AG, Frankfurt am Main
- VR Equity Partner GmbH, Frankfurt am Main
- Equens SE, Utrecht
- R V Versicherung AG in Wiesbaden
- Team Bank AG, Nuremberg
- Union Asset Management Holding AG, Frankfurt am Main
- VR Leasing AG, Eschborn
- Travel Bank AG, Frankfurt am Main
Other interests of DZ Bank are listed in the current annual report.
Shareholder
DZ Bank AG had as of December 31, 2010, registered capital of 3,160 million euros. This is made up of the following shareholders:
- Cooperative banks ( directly and indirectly ) 82.1 %
- WGZ Bank AG West German Cooperative Central Bank ( direct and indirect) 6.7%
- Other cooperatives 7.0%
- Other 4.2%