Deposit guarantee scheme

The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe institutional guarantee system

Helaba enjoys the protection of the German Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe’s institutional guarantee system through its membership in the security reserve of the Landesbanken and Girozentralen. Along with the eleven regional Sparkasse support funds and the guarantee reserve of the Landesbausparkassen, this security reserve is one of the 13 security guarantee schemes that together form the joint institutional guarantee system of the German Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe. 

The intent and purpose of the approach taken by means of the deposit security reserve is to protect the very existence of credit institutions. In a crisis, the liquidity and solvency of an institution can be safeguarded by taking relevant support measures. Credit institutions that are affected by a crisis are thus enabled to continue performing their obligations, without restrictions. As a consequence of this protection mechanism, customer deposits are protected with no limits on the amounts involved.

Major improvements to the institutional guarantee system came into effect on 1 January 2006. A qualified risk monitoring system designed to ensure early recognition of special risk situations at member institutions was introduced, and the member institutions adopted a risk-oriented method of calculating fund contributions and increased the fund volumes.

Regional reserve fund 

Independent of the German Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe’s security guarantee schemes, the Reserve Fund of the Sparkassen- und Giroverband Hessen-Thüringen provides additional protection for Helaba and the 50 Sparkassen in Hesse and Thuringia. This reserve fund is a vital element of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Hessen-Thüringen’s New S-Group Concept, which is founded on a business model in which Helaba and the Sparkassen function as a single economic entity. 

The reserve fund came into existence on 1 January 2004. It too guarantees the affiliated institutions and ensures that they are able to continue operating. The reserve fund also guarantees deposits, safeguarding depositor/customer claims against Helaba in all but a few exceptional cases. There is no cap on the amounts per creditor guaranteed. 

At of the end of 2010, the total reserves of the fund were approx. EUR 516 m.