Protection scheme

Deposit protection in Germany is provided by schemes set up for various categories of banks (private banks, public banks, savings banks and credit cooperatives). Statutory and voluntary schemes provided by the banking associations operate alongside one another. Statutory depositor protection is governed by the Deposit Guarantee Act (Einlagensicherungsgesetz – EinSiG), which came into force on 3 July 2015. This Act transposed the harmonised requirements set out by the recast EU Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive of April 2014 into German law. According to the Act, all credit institutions engaged in deposit business are required to belong to a statutory deposit guarantee scheme in order to secure their deposits.

DGSs as defined under the Deposit Guarantee Act encompass the statutory depositor compensation scheme of the Association of German Banks (Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken GmbH, or EdB) as well as recognised institutional protection schemes.

The EdB provides protection for customers of private and public sector banks.

The focus of the institutional protection schemes (IPS) operated by the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, or DSGV) and the National Association of German Cooperative Banks (Bundesverband der Deutschen Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken, or BVR) is protecting the institutions themselves. Under the Deposit Guarantee Act, these institutional protection schemes have also been recognised as statutory deposit guarantee schemes since 2015. 

The BVR has a dual protection scheme consisting of an institutional protection scheme, BVR Institutssicherung GmbH, and its ongoing voluntary institutional scheme. The institutional protection scheme operated by the DSGV performs the additional task of insuring deposits. The German Savings Banks Association (DSGV) plans to set up a supplementary fund in addition to the statutory fund. 

Statutory protection

If a compensation event occurs, the statutory guarantee schemes ensure legal entitlement to compensation up to a maximum amount of €100,000 per depositor and per bank, including any claims to interest.  A higher level of protection of up to €500,000 for a period of up to six months following the crediting of deposited amounts applies to deposits considered particularly worthy of protection. Such funds include deposits resulting from the sale of private real estate and claims on social grounds. . Compensation claims must be fulfilled no later than seven working days after the determination of a compensation event. Alongside all types of deposit – essentially, sight, time and savings deposits – the statutory deposit guarantee scheme also covers registered savings bonds. Depositors with a claim to compensation include individuals, partnerships and corporations, regardless of their size. The deposit guarantee schemes are financed through the collection of annual, risk-oriented contributions from the institutions belonging to them.

Voluntary protection

The statutory deposit guarantee schemes are supplemented by the voluntary deposit insurance schemes established by the Association of German Banks (Bundesverband deutscher Banken, or BdB) and the Association of German Public Banks (Bundesverband Öffentlicher Banken Deutschlands, or VÖB). Both banking associations run their own voluntary deposit guarantee fund.

Deposits are guaranteed by voluntary insurance schemes only if they are not already covered by a statutory compensation scheme. There is no legal entitlement to compensation. The voluntary deposit guarantee fund of the Association of German Banks (BdB) guarantees deposits of private customers, partnerships and foundations that manage only private assets. These include sight deposits, time deposits and savings deposits, including registered savings bonds. Since 1 January 2023, the maximum deposit covered has been €5 million for private savers and €50 million for enterprises. Protection for deposits of enterprises with a maturity of more than 12 months was discontinued in 2023. Professional depositors (such as insurers or investment companies) have not been protected since 2023.

As from 2025, the amount covered will be reduced to €3 million for private savers and €30 million for enterprises; from 2030, it will be reduced to €1 million and €10 million, respectively. Deposits collected outside Germany via foreign branches of member institutions are no longer protected.

The voluntary deposit guarantee fund operated by the Association of German Public Banks (VÖB) protects non-bank deposits in excess of the statutorily guaranteed claim to compensation of €100,000; deposits of individuals, business enterprises and municipalities are protected.