The German savings and cooperative banks of the 19th century were precursors of modern microfinance. They provided access to financial services for the majority of the German population, which was formerly excluded from bank funding. Furthermore, they did this at low costs for themselves and...

This Paper gives an overview of the German banking system and current challenges it is facing. It starts with an overview of the so-called "Three-Pillar-Banking-System" and a detailed description of the current structure of the banking system in Germany. A brief comparison of the banking system...

Until about 25 years ago, almost all European countries had a so-called "three pillar" banking system comprising private banks, (public) savings banks and (mutual) cooperative banks. Since that time, several European countries have implemented far-reaching changes in their banking systems, which...

The paper provides an overview and an economic analysis of the development of the corporate governance of German banks since the 1950s, highlighting peculiarities - as seen from the meanwhile prevailing standard model perspective - of the German case. These peculiarities refer to the specific...