OREANDA-NEWS. From its access to international markets to a robust job market to the country’s status as Europe’s leading economic powerhouse, the German banking sector is highly attractive. Present in Germany since 1947, the BNP Paribas Group has a strong, scalable and innovative position in this fragmented and highly competitive market.

Although the German banking sector offers many appealing advantages, it also presents a major challenge: it is extremely fragmented (much more so than the banking sector in France, for example). In Germany, retail banks coexist with municipal savings banks, mutual savings banks and commercial banks.

How to secure a position in such a highly competitive market? For several decades, our strategy has been to differentiate our bank and innovate! We have continuously boosted our position in Germany, through partnerships and acquisitions designed to develop our activities. Our continuous growth has led to results, as our offer now spans 13 business lines, with 4,200 employees at 19 locations.

BNP Paribas has worked to differentiate its retail offer by developing its online banking services. We did so with our online broker Consorbank (former known as Cortal Consors) by transforming them to a digital bank and by acquiring broker DAB Bank in late 2014. BNP Paribas Germany Head Camille Fohl says the acquisition “increased BNP Paribas’ critical mass in Germany, adding nearly 600,000 customers to our base of 800,000 at Consorsbank.” Following the acquisition, the Group became the fifth-largest digital bank in Germany.