Sparkassen, una fortaleza asediada

The Sparkassen, as the Germans call their savings banks, have been an exception on the European scene. Unlike their counterparts in neighbouring countries, they successfully withstood the onslaught of privatisation and the ensuing financial crisis that hit the Spanish credit system so hard. Now they are being tested again. Partly because of the low interest rates sponsored by the ECB's monetary policy, but also because of the mistakes made in their management. Its governance system has degenerated, as have its investment and remuneration policies, and it has lost coherence with its founding mission. Cost-cutting measures irritate its clientele, more than half of the German population. As a result, calls for privatisation are growing louder and louder, encouraged by Brussels, whose lack of faith in the traditional model in the face of the prevailing liberalising and globalising winds is well known. The powerful Sparkassen Association is looking for solutions in order to emerge unscathed from the crisis, in the knowledge that something has to change. With the help of German media and academic opinion, this book describes in detail the unknowns of the current situation, the solution to which is expected to be decided in 2018. Will the traditional model be maintained or will we see a radical transformation of these institutions as we saw in Spain just a few years ago?