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Frankfurt am Main (German news agency) – The Vice President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Claudia Buch, has criticized that the financial lobby has an advantage in asserting interests. “There is a certain imbalance in the financial sector because the issues are very complex. The industry therefore has an advantage that other civil society groups find it difficult to compensate,” said Buch of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (Wednesday edition).
“These are often less listened to, so we need stronger voices on the other side that represent broader social interests.” Buch is harsh on banks that resist stricter regulation and threaten that they would then not be able to finance the green transformation. “There has not yet been a crisis due to overly strict supervision. A robust banking sector is the best way to finance the green transformation. Because equity capital enables banks to continue lending even in difficult times. Overall, the German banking sector currently has excess capital of more than 165 billion euros – i.e. after deducting the regulatory capital requirements,” said Buch. So there is enough money to finance green projects. The old economy demands better rules for the safe handling of big banks in order to avoid taxpayer liability. “We have already achieved a lot in improving resolution regimes. But there are still gaps that we have to close so that even a large bank can be resolved in an emergency,” said Buch.