BaFin - Navigation & Service

Stand:updated on 29.01.2020 | Topic BaFin Functions & history

BaFin acts in the public interest. Its main objective is to ensure the proper functioning, stability and integrity of Germany’s financial system. Bank customers, insurance policyholders and investors should be able to trust the financial system.

BaFin’s staff work in Bonn and Frankfurt am Main. They supervise banks, financial services institutions, payment institutions, e-money institutions, German branches of foreign credit institutions from the European Economic Area, insurers, Pensionsfonds, German asset managers and German funds. All the related figures can be found in the current annual report.

BaFin’s solvency supervision activities help, for example, to counteract risks to the assets entrusted to institutions. In addition, BaFin’s market supervision aims to safeguard fair and transparent conditions in the markets and to ensure collective consumer protection. This extends to all the products and financial services that fall under BaFin’s supervision.

Another part of BaFin’s mandate is to prevent the financial system from being misused for money laundering or terrorist financing purposes. To this end, BaFin makes sure, for example, that the companies it supervises comply with the applicable requirements for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. In Germany, banks, financial services providers and insurance companies are not allowed to conduct business without official authorisation. BaFin oversees compliance with this prohibition, having been granted far-reaching powers of investigation and intervention for this purpose. Through its involvement in numerous European committees, BaFin is helping to create a single European financial market. Furthermore, BaFin is engaged in international bodies, playing an active role in the formation of global supervisory standards.

On 1 May 2002, the federal supervisory offices for banks (Bundesaufsichtsamt für das KreditwesenBAKred), securities trading (Bundesaufsichtsamt für den WertpapierhandelBAWe) and insurance (Bundesaufsichtsamt für das VersicherungswesenBAV) were merged to form the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für FinanzdienstleistungsaufsichtBaFin).

BaFin has also been Germany's national resolution authority (NRA) since 1 January 2018. The current organisational structure can be found in BaFin’s organisation chart.

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Publications on this topic

Deutsche Bank AG: BaFin ap­points spe­cial rep­re­sen­ta­tive due to dis­rup­tions in cus­tomer ser­vice

On 29 September 2023, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) appointed a special representative for Deutsche Bank AG. The special representative is tasked with monitoring the bank to ensure that it quickly and comprehensively resolves the disturbances affecting the retail banking business of its Postbank and DSL Bank branches.

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What impact are high inflation and rising interest rates having on life insurers and institutions for occupational retirement provision? Industry experts and insurance supervisors discussed this at BaFin’s Annual Insurance Supervision Conference.

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Mark Bran­son takes up of­fice as the new BaFin Pres­i­dent – and plans to drive for­ward the mod­erni­sa­tion of the Ger­man fi­nan­cial su­per­vi­sor

Mark Branson (52), the new President of Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, takes up office today, officially assuming his position as the successor to Felix Hufeld (60). His official office is located in Bonn.

2018 an­nu­al re­port now avail­able in En­glish

The English version of BaFin’s 2018 annual report has now been published on BaFin’s website.

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