Inhalt
Credit institutions
Bank levy
The bank levy took effect in Germany at the beginning of 2011. All credit institutions
requiring authorisation within the meaning of section 1 (1) of the Banking Act with the exception
of promotional banks and bridge institutions that are subject to the Credit Institution Accounting
Regulation (Kreditinstituts-Rechungslegungsverordnung) are required to pay contributions. The amount
of the bank levy depends on the paying institution’s business volume, size and interconnectedness
in the financial market. The key factors are the sum of incurred liabilities (excepting capital,
among other positions) and the volume of forward transactions outstanding. Contributions must be
sized such that they can fund the Restructuring Fund’s measures and costs. Special contributions
may therefore also be imposed along with annual contributions.
All credit institutions which are required to pay annual contributions from the point in time
at which the Restructuring Fund’s need for funding is established are also required to pay special
contributions. The amount of special contributions to be paid depends on the ratio of the average
of the annual contributions due in the past three years payable by the individual credit
institution required to pay contributions to the average of the total of annual contributions due
in the past three years payable by all credit institutions required to pay contributions.
The bank levy has an upper limit, and an annual minimum contribution must be paid. These
rules thus take account of each bank’s economic performance.
Details on how the annual and special contributions are calculated are governed by the
Regulation on Credit Institutions’ Contributions to the Restructuring Fund (Verordnung über die Beiträge zum Restrukturierungsfonds für Kreditinstitute).