Financial Regulation in Germany

The paper is looking at the historical development of financial regulation in Germany. It is part of a series of papers that outline the development of financial regulation in other European countries such as France, Italy, Estonia, Slovenia, Hungary and Spain, and culminates in a synthesis aiming to understand what has changed in the regulatory structures of different countries because of the decisions made in the Single European Act and had the aim to create a single market also in the sphere of financial markets and what approaches have been taken to implement the long list of EU Directives following the act. This study is structured according to different areas of financial regulation and takes within each area a chronological approach detailing the main changes in each policy area. However, in the first part (section 1), a general overview of the German regulatory system is given and the main overarching changes are described. The second part (sections 4 – 14) focuses on policy areas that were heavily influenced by EU legislation. In the third part largely national regulations are analysed (section 15). Thereafter a short look at the currently constructed banking union is taken. The last section concludes.