Deutsche Bank's planned takeover of Sal Oppenheim will leave the German private banking sector dominated by two key players. However, Deutsche and Commerzbank are pursuing very different strategies. Writer Michael Marray

Global regulators are drawing up tougher capital adequacy standards, but German banks do not like what they are seeing. Writer Michael Imeson

In the current financial climate, five-year papers are considered a no-go area for US bond investors. This makes the $4m, five-year issue pulled off by Germany's Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau last month all the more remarkable. Writer Edward Russell-Walling

Through purchasing Dresdner Bank, Commerzbank has cemented its status as Germany’s number two retail bank. “Our geographic footprint broadens significantly, especially in important urban centres such as Munich, Berlin and Hamburg,” says Dr Achim Kassow, a member of the Commerzbank board of directors responsible for private, retail and small business banking.

The tools appear to be in place for Germany’s real economy to maintain funding sources during the global downturn, but restructuring the country’s hard core of troubled banks remains a more complex problem. Writer Philip Alexander.

Germany’s example shows that renewable energy markets can be created if governments actively invest in infrastructure and provide clear, long-term policies. Writer Geraldine Lambe.

The Dresdner and Postbank deals look like big news and might increase competitiveness, but what effect will they really have on the German banking landscape? Writer Michael Marray.

By covering the whole value chain through an integrated business model, exchanges can benefit all of their customer groups from issuers to private investors, says Rainer Riess of Deutsche Börse.