## Germany: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note-The Determinants of Bank Profitability

_IMF Staff Country Reports, August 16, 2022_

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: August 16, 2022
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400218118.002

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### Key findings on profitability
- German bank profitability is low by international standards.
- German banks rank more favorably in risk-adjusted terms because low profitability is partially compensated by lower volatility of returns.
- On measures such as returns on assets, equity, and risk-weighted assets, German banks, on aggregate, rank among the least profitable in Europe.
- Several factors affect bank profitability, including:
  - a complex tiered industry structure with barriers to entry;
  - an explicit mandate of a large part of the banking system—cooperative and savings banks—to maximize welfare of stakeholders rather than profits.

### Analytical focus and themes
- Assessment emphasizes comparative profitability metrics (returns on assets, equity, risk-weighted assets) and risk-adjusted performance.
- Structural and institutional determinants highlighted: industry structure, mandates of cooperative and savings banks, and market entry barriers.

### Publication and metadata (preserved exactly)
- Pages: 46
- Volume: 2022
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400218118.002
- Issue: 273
- Series: Country Report No. 2022/273
- Stock No: 1DEUEA2022010
- ISBN: 9798400218118
- ISSN: 1934-7685
- Publication date on landing page: August 16, 2022
- Format: IMF Staff Country Reports

### Subjects and keywords (as listed)
- Subject: Bank soundness, Commercial banks, Cooperative banks, Financial institutions, Financial sector policy and analysis, Income, International organization, Loans, Monetary policy, National accounts
- Keywords: asset productivity, Bank soundness, Commercial banks, commission income, Cooperative banks, Europe, FSAP's finding, Germany FSAP, Global, Income, income component, Loans, net fee

*Source: Germany: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note-The Determinants of Bank Profitability (IMF Staff Country Reports, 2022, 273).*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2022/08/10/germany-financial-sector-assessment-program-technical-note-the-determinants-of-bank-522098_