Bafin pledges to give banks willing to move to Germany "reliable basis" for activities

Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) would give foreign banks willing to move their business to Germany "a reliable basis for their activities," said a senior official for banking supervision with Bafin on Monday.

"As committed Europeans, we do not see Brexit as a reason to celebrate. But now we need to take a pragmatic approach and offer institutions the necessary supervisory clarity for their strategic decisions," said Peter Lutz, after a meeting during which about 50 representatives of foreign banks were invited to discuss specialist issues related to Brexit.

Lutz added that Bafin was doing this to give institutions wishing to move their business to Germany a reliable basis for their activities, but also to avoid any risks arising for the German financial sector.

Bafin said in a statement that in the weeks leading up to the meeting, many institutions had already contacted Bafin to find out about regulatory and supervisory issues in Germany.

"Brexit will cause a fundamental change in the legal framework for the banks," the statement noted.

Monday's event focused on, for example, questions of risk management, compliance requirements under the German Securities Trading Act, requirements for internal models, rules governing large exposures, among others. Endit