Search

Germany’s state-owned banks (“Landesbanken”) have been central actors in the country’s economic success since the mid-19th century. Yet, during the recent economic crisis, Germany’s state-owned banks performed far worse than their private sector counterparts. Although they comprise 21 percent of all bank activity in Germany prior to the crisis, Landesbanken accounted for 41 percent of the financial losses. In addition, a number of well-established and large Landesbanken fell into conservatorship, closed, and were taken over by other institutions.

This event is part of the colloquium series “Rethinking Law in a Global Context”, which this summer semester focuses on “Violence, Surveillance, Secrecy: Constitutionalism and the 'Deep State'”, sponsored by the WZB Rule of Law Center and convened by Prof. Dr. Mattias Kumm (WZB and New York University).