A strong economy needs a strong bank. But with Deutsche Bank generally regarded as a global institution without a meaningful domestic market share, it is an open secret that what local bankers describe as a national champion remains conspicuous by its absence in Germany. To many financiers and policymakers in Europe’s largest economy, that is a source of growing angst.
At one level, it is easy enough to grasp why. As a German bank chief says, the largest local companies now rely on international banks for as much as 50% of their credit. It is, he says, unhealthy that decisions influencing the financing strategy of the cream of German industry should rest much more with credit committees in...
