The large number of refugees seeking asylum from war and hunger is changing the country. These people must be given a chance to participate in our lives. The Savings Banks mean more to the German Federal States, districts and municipalities than just financial institutions. They are reliable partners, keeping going when others have already stopped. However, as well as the new ones, other well-known challenges still exist, such as climate and demographic change, to name just two. As credit institutions incorporated under public law, the Savings Banks face up to these tasks. The Savings Banks can throw quite a bit of weight into the balance: the Savings Banks Finance Group is comprised of 580 institutions, with more than 345,400 employees overall.

And they all follow one guiding principle: today’s success cannot happen at the expense of future generations. The foundation we have to protect for the common good is partly ecological, but it also has an economic and a social side. Sustainable thinking and operating is part of the Savings Banks’ business activities, geared towards the common good: the deposits made by the Savings Banks’ clients are the basis for loans to the local economy. In this way, the Savings Banks contribute to the economic, cultural and social development locally.