DZ Bank AG () is the
second largest bank in Germany by asset size and the central institution for around 700
cooperative banks and their around 7,200 branch offices.
Within that
Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken, which is one of Germany's largest
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The private sector employs most of the workfo ...
financial service organizations and manages assets of around 1.175 trillion euros,
DZ Bank functions both as a central institution and as a corporate and investment bank.
DZ Bank is an
acronym
An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
for Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank (literally "German Central
Cooperative Bank
Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world.
Cooperative banking, as discussed here, includes retail banking carr ...
").
As a holding, the DZ Bank Group defines itself primarily as a service provider for local cooperative banks and their 30 million or so clients. The DZ Bank Group includes:
Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall, a building society; DZ HYP (), a provider of commercial real estate finance; DZ Privatbank Gruppe; R+V Versicherung, an insurance company; TeamBank, a provider of consumer finance;
Union Investment
Union Asset Management Holding AG () is the Investment banking, investment arm of the DZ Bank, DZ Bank Group and part of the cooperative financial services network. It was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Frankfurt.
Trading in open-end f ...
Group, an asset management company; VR Smart Finanz; and various other specialized institutions.
DZ Bank, headquartered in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, Germany, is a member of CIBP,
EACB, the
Euro Banking Association, and Unico. It maintains
branches, subsidiaries and representative offices in key financial centers and economic regions worldwide. The
DZ Bank building in Berlin, located at Pariser Platz 3, was designed by architect
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions.
Gehry rose to prominence in th ...
.
DZ Bank also has one of the most significant collections of contemporary artistic photography which today comprises over 6,000 works by more than 550 artists.
In 2016 DZ Bank was merged with
WGZ Bank, the central institute of the cooperative banks of both the Rheinland (Rhineland) and Westfalen (Westphalia).
DZ Bank has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of
European Banking Supervision
European Banking Supervision, also known as the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), is the policy framework for the prudential supervision of banks in the euro area. It is centered on the European Central Bank (ECB), whose supervisory arm is re ...
in late 2014, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central component of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#International ...
.
Investments
DZ Bank is a shareholder of Canadian oil and gas company
TC Energy, which is behind the controversial
Coastal GasLink Pipeline slated to be built on unceded
Wet'suwet'en Nation territory in Northern
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. DZ Bank increased their stake on 31 March 2020 from 1.22 million to 4.27M shares, an increase of ~250%.
See also
*
German Cooperative Financial Group
*
Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken
References
External links
*
*
Annual Report - DZ BANK Group
{{Authority control
2001 establishments in Germany
Banks established in 2001
Banks based in Frankfurt
Banks under direct supervision of the European Central Bank
Cooperative banks of Germany
German brands
Primary dealers