The savings banks are burnt children. All too often, they had to bleed for Landesbanks such as West LB, HSH Nordbank or Bayern LB. Ideally, they would like to see only one central bank along the lines of DZ Bank, the central institution of the Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken. Since such a bank has not yet been created due to the regional nature of the Savings Banks Group, the Savings Banks want at least smaller and lower-risk Landesbanken.
The interests of the federal states
But the other owners, the federal states, have other interests. They need state banks as financiers, for example for energy transition projects. At Nord LB, this conflict can be seen in all its sharpness as an example. To make matters worse, the other Landesbanks have also had veto rights against their expansion since the emergency rescue of Nord LB in 2019.
However, since Lower Saxony, as the largest owner, is fully behind the bank's growth, the state should also create clear conditions and buy the savings banks out of Nord LB as owners. Because then it would also be clear who is liable if their expansion should prove to be a failure in a few years.