Draft:German public banking sector

The German public banking sector (Öffentliches Kreditwesen) represents a significant share of the broader banking sector in Germany. Unlike most other Western and Central European countries, where the banking system has been historically dominated by private-sector entities (except for central banks, many of which were nationalized in the course of the 20th century); in Germany, public-sector banks have been present since the early phases of formalization of banking entities in the early modern period and have never lost their collective significance.

Following many steps of development, consolidation, and restructuring, the German public banking sector (leaving aside the Deutsche Bundesbank) consists mainly of two clusters: the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, which competes with commercial and cooperative banks and includes local Sparkassen and regional Landesbanks; and promotional and development banks (Förderbanken) owned by the Federal Republic of Germany (in the case of KfW) or the individual states of Germany.

Two overlapping organizations represent the German public banking sector: the Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (DSGV), the umbrella organization for the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe; and the Association of German Public Banks, which brings together the Landesbanks (also members of the DSGV) and the Förderbanken.

History
The current Landesbanken and Förderbanken are the product of numerous episodes of development and consolidation starting in the 18th century, tracking the formation of Germany itself. In mid-1931, the default of the Landesbank der Rheinprovinz, following aggressive and uncontrolled expansion of its credit to German municipalities, was a major trigger of Germany's economic depression - unlike other Landesbanken such as the Mitteldeutsche Landesbank, which survived the episode largely unscathed. With the delineation of West Germany's Länder between 1948 and 1957, the Landesbanks started acting as "house banks" of their respective Land, thus expanding into some of largest foreign issuers in Germany.

The promotional and development banks emerged more recently as a distinct category. KfW was established in 1948 and the Förderbanken of Bavaria and Saarland in 1951, but most others were created (in Eastern Germany) or spun off from the local Landesbanken (in the West) in the 1990s and 2000s.

Berlin and Eastern Germany

 * 1819: Landesanstalt zur Beförderung des Geld- und Kreditverkehrs established in Altenburg
 * 1847: Sächsische Provinzialbank established in Merseburg
 * 1847: Anhalt-Dessauische Landesbank established in Dessau
 * 1849: Landeskreditanstalt Meiningen established in Meiningen
 * 1915: Girozentrale - Kommunalbank für die Provinz Sachsen, Thüringen und Anhalt established in Magdeburg
 * 1922: Thüringische Staatsbank established in Weimar
 * 1923: Thüringische Staatsbank takes over the Landesbank in Altenburg, Landesbank in Rudolstadt, Landeskreditanstalt Meiningen, and the Landessparkassen in the former Gera-Greiz area
 * 1924: Wohnungsfürsorgegesellschaft Berlin established, renamed Wohnungsbau-Kreditanstalt der Reichshauptstadt Berlin in 1937, later Gemeinnützige Siedlungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Berlin
 * 1928: Girozentrale - Kommunalbank für die Provinz Sachsen, Thüringen und Anhalt and Sächsische Provinzialbank in Merseburg merged to form Mitteldeutsche Landesbank - Girozentrale für die Provinz Sachsen, Thüringen und Anhalt, with head office in Magdeburg
 * 1945: Thüringische Staatsbank and Mitteldeutsche Landesbank ordered to end their operations by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany
 * 1965: Gemeinnützige Siedlungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Berlin restructured as Wohnungsbau-Kreditanstalt Berlin
 * 1991: Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) established in Berlin
 * Sächsische Aufbaubank established in Leipzig by Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg
 * 1992: Landesbank Sachsen established in Leipzig, Saxony
 * Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB) established in Potsdam
 * Thüringer Aufbaubank established in Erfurt
 * 1993: Wohnungsbau-Kreditanstalt Berlin integrated into Landesbank Berlin as Investitionsbank Berlin
 * Landesförderinstitut Sachsen-Anhalt established in Magdeburg, later known as Investitionsbank Sachsen-Anhalt (IB)
 * 1994: Landesförderinstitut Mecklenburg-Vorpommern established in Schwerin
 * 1998: Sächsische Aufbaubank ownership transferred from L-Bank to the state of Saxony
 * 2001: Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein (IB.SH) established in Kiel
 * 2004: Gemeinnützige Siedlungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Berlin privatized as GSWImmobilien GmbH
 * Landesförderinstitut Sachsen-Anhalt transformed into Investitionsbank Sachsen-Anhalt

Northwestern Germany

 * 1765: Herzogliche Leyhaus established in Braunschweig
 * 1840: Hannoversche Landeskreditanstalt established in Hanover
 * 1869: Oldenburgische Landesbank established in Oldenburg
 * 1883: Bodencredit-Anstalt des Herzogtums Oldenburg established in Oldenburg, renamed Staatliche Kreditanstalt des Herzogtums Oldenburg in 1906 and Staatliche Kreditanstalt Oldenburg in 1922
 * 1917: Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein Girozentrale established in Kiel
 * Landesbank der Provinz Hannover established in Hanover
 * 1918: Niedersächsische Wohnungskreditanstalt Stadtschaft established in Hanover
 * 1919: Herzogliche Leyhaus in Braunschweig renamed Braunschweigische Staatsbank
 * 1928: Hansa-Bank established in Bremen
 * 1933: Sparkassen- und Giroverband für Schleswig Holstein established in Kiel
 * Landesbank der Provinz Hannover renamed Niedersächsische Landesbank Girozentrale
 * 1938: Hansa-Bank and Staatliche Kreditanstalt Oldenburg merge to form the Staatlichen Kreditanstalt Oldenburg-Bremen
 * Bremer Landesbank – Girozentrale established in Bremen
 * Hamburgischen Landesbank – Girozentrale (HLB) established in Hamburg
 * 1940: Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein Girozentrale merged with Sparkassen-Giroverband Schleswig-Holstein
 * 1951: Bremer Aufbau-Bank (BAB) established in Bremen
 * 1952: Hamburgische Wohnungsbaukasse established in Hamburg, renamed Hamburgische Wohnungsbaukreditanstalt (WK) in 1973 and Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank in 2013
 * 1970: Braunschweigische Staatsbank, Hannoversche Landeskreditanstalt, Niedersächsische Landesbank Girozentrale, Braunschweigische Landessparkasse, and Niedersächsische Wohnungskreditanstalt Stadtschaft merged to form NORD/LB
 * 1983: Bremer Landesbank – Girozentrale and Staatlichen Kreditanstalt Oldenburg-Bremen merged to form Bremer Landesbank Kreditanstalt Oldenburg – Girozentrale (also known as Bremer Landesbank, or BLB)
 * 2003: Hamburgische Landesbank – Girozentrale and Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein Girozentrale merged to form HSH Nordbank AG, with joint head offices in Hamburg and Kiel; Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein spun out
 * 2004: NBank established in Hanover
 * 2005: Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank (IFB Hamburg) established in Hamburg
 * 2017: BLB merged into NORD/LB
 * 2019: HSH Nordbank privatized and renamed Hamburg Commercial Bank; Landesbank role in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein taken up by NORD/LB

Western-central Germany

 * 1832: Provinzial-Hülfskasse Westfalen established in Münster, sometimes referred to as the first Landesbank
 * Landeskreditkasse established in Kassel
 * 1840: Landeskreditkasse established in Wiesbaden, reorganized in 1849 as Nassauische Landesbank
 * 1854: Rheinische Provinzial-Hülfskasse established in Cologne; relocated in 1877 to Düsseldorf, and renamed in 1888 Landesbank der Rheinprovinz
 * 1855: Landgraflich Hessische Konzessionierte Landesbank, in Bad Homburg
 * 1890: Provinzial-Hülfskasse Westfalen renamed Landesbank der Provinz Westfalen
 * 1903: Hessische Landes-Hypothekenbank AG established in Darmstadt
 * 1914: Landesbank der Rheinprovinz becomes the payments clearing house (Girozentrale) for the savings banks in the Rheinisch-Westfälische Sparkassentag, in substitution of the Stadtsparkasse Köln which had taken up that role in 1911 for the Rhine Province of Prussia
 * 1923: Hessische Landesbank - Staatsbank established in Darmstadt
 * 1929: Landeskommunalbank - Girozentrale für Hessen established in Darmstadt
 * 1931: Landesbank der Rheinprovinz in distress, suspends payments despite emergency liquidity assistance from Deutsche Girozentrale, Preussische Staatsbank and the Reichsbank; clearing house role transferred to the Cologne branch of the Deutsche Girozentrale
 * 1935: Landesbank der Rheinprovinz renamed Rheinische Girozentrale und Provinzialbank
 * 1940: Landeskommunalbank - Girozentrale für Hessen, Hessische Landes-Hypothekenbank AG, and Hessische Landesbank - Staatsbank merge to form Hessische Landesbank Darmstadt Girozentrale in Darmstadt
 * 1941: Landesbank und Girozentrale Westmark established in Saarbrücken, renamed Landesbank und Girozentrale Saar in 1946 (also known as Landesbank Saar, later SaarLB)
 * 1943: Landesbank der Provinz Westfalen merges with Westfälisches Pfandbriefamt to form Landesbank für Westfalen (Girozentrale)
 * 1951: Saarländische Investitionskreditbank established in Saarbrücken
 * 1953: Landeskreditkasse Kassel, Nassauische Landesbank and Hessische Landesbank Darmstadt Girozentrale merged to form Hessische Landesbank Girozentrale (Helaba)
 * 1958: The branch of the Rheinische Girozentrale und Provinzialbank in Koblenz merges with Girozentrale Pfalz (in Kaiserslautern) and Hessen-Nassauische Landesbank (in Mainz) to form Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz (LRP) in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate
 * 1969: Rheinische Girozentrale und Provinzialbank and Landesbank für Westfalen (Girozentrale) merged to form Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (WestLB) established with joint head offices in Düsseldorf and Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, and branches in Cologne, Dortmund, Bielefeld, and Essen
 * 1972: WestLB starts developing a foreign branch network by opening in Luxembourg, followed by London in 1973 and New York in 1975
 * 2002: NRW.Bank spun off from WestLB converts itself into a joint-stock company as WestLB AG, and sells its private banking business to Merck Finck Privatbankiers
 * Förderbank Hessen, known as Wirtschafts- und Infrastrukturbank (WI-Bank) established in Frankfurt and Offenbach am Main
 * 2004: Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz established in Mainz
 * 2012: WestLB dismantled with assets transferred to Portigon Financial Services; Landesbank role in North Rhine-Westphalia taken up by Helaba

Baden-Württemberg

 * 1818: Württembergische Landessparkasse established in Stuttgart as national savings bank of the Kingdom of Württemberg
 * 1870: Badische Bank established in Mannheim as the note-issuing bank of the Grand Duchy of Baden
 * 1871: Württembergische Notenbank established in Stuttgart as the note-issuing bank of the Kingdom of Württemberg
 * 1884: Städtische Sparkasse Stuttgart established in Stuttgart
 * 1916: Zentralstelle des Württembergischen Giroverbands – Stuttgart established in Stuttgart, later renamed Landesbank Stuttgart
 * 1924: Württembergische Wohnungskreditanstalt established in Stuttgart; renamed Württembergische Landeskreditanstalt in 1932
 * 1929: Badische Kommunale Landesbank established in Mannheim
 * 1932: Badische Bank relocated from Mannheim to Karlsruhe
 * 1934: Badische Bank and Württembergische Notenbank deprived of their note-issuing role and repurposed as commercial entities; the latter renamed Württembergische Bank in 1935
 * Badische Wohnungsfürsorgekassen and Badische Landeswohnungsfürsorgeanstalt merged into entity based in Karlsruhe and named Badische Landeskreditanstalt für Wohnungsbau in 1935
 * 1972: Württembergische Landeskreditanstalt and Badische Landeskreditanstalt für Wohnungsbau merged into Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg
 * 1975: Württembergische Landessparkasse and Städtische Spar- und Girokasse Stuttgart merged to form Landessparkasse – Girokasse öffentliche Bank in Stuttgart, renamed Landesgirokasse Stuttgart in 1977
 * 1978: Badische Bank, Württembergische Bank and Handelsbank Heilbronn merged to form Baden-Württembergische Bank (BW-Bank) in Stuttgart
 * 1988: Landesbank Stuttgart and Badische Kommunale Landesbank merged to form SüdwestLB (SüdwestLB) in Stuttgart
 * 1998: L-Bank formed from the development finance activities of Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg
 * 1999: Landesgirokasse Stuttgart and SüdwestLB merged with the commercial activities of Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg to form Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) in Stuttgart
 * 2005: BW-Bank merged into LBBW

Bavaria

 * 1884: Landeskultur-Rentenanstalt established in Munich
 * 1914: Bayerische Girozentrale founded, permanently established in 1917 in Nuremberg and relocated in 1920 in Munich
 * 1925: Bayerische Girozentrale reorganized and renamed Bayerische Gemeindebank (Girozentrale) Öffentliche Bankanstalt
 * 1949: Landeskultur-Rentenanstalt renamed Bayerische Landesbodenkreditanstalt
 * 1951: LfA Förderbank Bayern established in Munich
 * 1972: Bayerische Gemeindebank and Bayerische Landesbodenkreditanstalt merged to form Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale (BayernLB)

Cross-regional consolidation

 * 1992: Hessische Landesbank Girozentrale takes up Landesbank role in Thuringia, and is renamed Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale while keeping the shorthand name Helaba
 * NORD/LB takes up Landesbank role in Saxony-Anhalt
 * 1993: NORD/LB takes up Landesbank role in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
 * 2001: BayernLB acquires majority control of SaarLB
 * 2005: LRP merged into LBBW
 * 2007: SachsenLB acquired by LBBW
 * 2010-2013: Saarland acquires control of SaarLB from BayernLB