There are many positives in Germany at the moment. Gross domestic product grew 2.5% in 2013, the unemployment rate is hovering around 5% and exports are strong. The country’s centuries-old banking system, however, is faced with the challenges of low profitability and high competition, and the public banks in particular are feeling pressure from international reforms.
The public banks, the third of Germany’s three-pillared system, mainly consist of the 'sparkassen', the regional savings banks, the federal state banks, the so-called 'landesbanken', building societies [bausparkassen] and promotional banks.
