Best bank 2025: Commerzbank
UniCredit’s acquisition of a large minority stake in Commerzbank has been a momentous event for Germany’s best bank and the wider financial sector.
The future of the investment is unclear, but so far it has given the Milan-based group a healthy return on paper. Indeed, Commerzbank’s share price more than doubled between September 2024, when UniCredit bought an initial 21% position partly via derivatives, and mid-2025.
The potential for transformational M&A has helped the stock, alongside macro tailwinds, but the positive trend is also largely due to a strategy that is showing results. Earlier moves have improved the bank’s performance, improved the customer franchise and shareholder returns in its bid to remain an independent German bank.
“The previous strategy was already laying the groundwork for where we’re now heading with our Momentum strategy,” chief financial officer Carsten Schmitt tells Euromoney. “Earlier this decade, the bank had already embarked on a journey of further focusing on customer business and digitising the bank more, including a reduction in our headcount and physical footprint.”
Full-year results in 2024 were, in important respects, the best in the bank’s history. It met all its targets for 2024, even after raising them during the year. Consolidated profit reached €2.7 billion, return on equity rose to 9.2% and the cost-to-income ratio fell to 59%. Growth in fee income accelerated, thanks to a broadened offering for wealthy clients and investment in bespoke asset management solutions, including renewables and alternatives.
Other key developments included the launch of Commerz Globalpay, a new joint venture offering modern digital solutions to small businesses. The bank also opened a new representative office in Vilnius and agreed an exclusive new partnership with Oddo BHF for equity brokerage and research in Switzerland.
“There is no split between running the bank and defending the bank, because running the bank as well as we possibly can is our recipe for success,” says Schmitt. “We are, in a calm way, carrying on with a strategy implementation because we think this is how we can create the most value for all our stakeholders.”
Best investment bank 2025: Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank’s investment banking franchise in Germany closed 2024 with unmistakable momentum. Group investment bank revenues advanced, but the more telling signal came at home, where origination and advisory fees surged considerably more than its nearest rival.
Having climbed to the top of every domestic league table, the franchise showcased its breadth by advising Hensoldt on the purchase of Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH, while simultaneously underwriting the accompanying equity raise and debt package.
Its integrated model also underpinned its domination of German debt capital markets. Volumes climbed to €36.2 billion ($42.4 billion) across 169 trades, reinforcing a number one ranking in overall DCM as well as in financial institutions group (FIG), and sovereign, supranational, and agency (SSA), where its deal count almost matched the combined output of its two closest competitors. Deutsche ran landmark transactions such as Commerzbank’s debut green subordinated bond and Grenke’s first social bond and, as joint ESG coordinator, refreshed Germany’s green bond framework. Its role on KfW’s €100 million blockchain-native bond, the first syndicated digital issue under Germany’s Electronic Securities Act, signalled further innovation.
On equities, the bank remained the natural coordinator for German IPOs, steering Douglas, Springer Nature and Renk and ending the year with a quarter of the IPO market and 21.6% of total ECM fees.
Its M&A franchise climbed to second place by fee, guiding Novartis’s €2.7 billion bid for MorphoSys and engineering minority-partnership deals for CompuGroup Medical and Autodoc that typify private equity’s new playbook in Germany’s Mittelstand.
Trading and financing businesses added depth: fixed income and currencies revenues rose 9% to €8.6 billion; a €1.67 billion purchase of aircraft loans from NORD/LB expanded global credit financing; and the launch of HausFX automated the FX lifecycle for mid-market corporates, underscoring the bank’s commitment to product innovation.
Best investment bank for ECM 2025: Citi
Citi’s German capital markets franchise has moved decisively up the value chain in the past 18 months, marrying structuring ingenuity with a deep distribution network.
Citi acted on the €889 million ($1.04 billion) IPO of beauty retailer Douglas, where the bank secured the largest long-only allocation in the book and designed a novel primary-mitigation package combining a €300 million equity injection from CVC/Kreke, a margin loan and a “Brownshoe” secondary line. The result was a deal that cleared smoothly despite volatile consumer-discretionary screens and preserved maximum proceeds for the issuer’s balance sheet.
The bank also advised on the €813 million Birkenstock follow-on, the first jumbo apparel offering since 2018. Citi, bookrunner since the company’s New York IPO, delivered more than half of the incremental demand from new investors, underlining its ability to refresh registers for household German brands while keeping pricing disciplined.
On the debt-equity crossover side, the bank reaffirmed its dominance in German convertibles. It led a sixth consecutive TUI convertible bond, a €487 million issue that was fully covered – along with the associated delta placement – within half an hour of launch, demonstrating investors’ trust in Citi’s pricing read and execution speed. Shortly afterwards, it printed a €500 million Qiagen convertible, the largest European healthcare trade since 2021; strong long-only appetite allowed a $50 million upsize while still skewing allocations towards fundamental holders.
Across these transactions, Citi repeatedly produced fully allocable shadow books before launch, anchored marquee institutions and, when necessary, blended equity injections with structured leverage. The pattern suggests a franchise that is no longer merely participating in Germany’s primary markets but shaping them, setting templates for sponsor exits, balance-sheet repairs and growth capital alike.
Best digital bank 2025: N26
Since Germany’s regulator lifted N26’s growth cap in June 2024, the Berlin-based bank has re-ignited expansion, moving from a hard ceiling of 60,000 monthly KYC completions to more than 200,000 sign-ups a month across its 24-country footprint.
Roughly half of those applicants convert to revenue-generating customers, taking the active base past 4 million and restoring pre-restriction momentum. Seventy per cent of new users still arrive organically or via friend-referral, keeping acquisition costs in check and underpinning the bank’s return to operational profitability in the third and fourth quarters of 2024. On a full-year basis, N26 was operationally in the black when a one-off bond-portfolio sale is stripped out; 2025 profits are being deliberately recycled into marketing to sustain the trajectory.
The leadership has deepened wallet share by turning its mobile current account into a pan-European financial marketplace. Since mid-2023 the bank has layered on high-yield savings, crypto trading, stocks and exchange-traded funds, saving plans and robo-style managed portfolios, all delivered through specialist partners – Bitpanda for crypto, Wise for foreign-exchange, Stripe for cash top-ups, an external broker for equities. One in three customers now pays a €5-16 monthly subscription that bundles fee-free trades, elevated deposit rates, unlimited ATM withdrawals and travel insurance – evidence, management argues, that users see N26 as a primary rather than single-purpose account.
Credit is the newest growth lever. Alongside long-standing overdrafts and instalment loans, N26 launched its first secured-lending product, a mortgage pilot in the Netherlands leveraging the local National Mortgage Guarantee. It is keeping all exposures on balance-sheet and signalling plans to extend mortgages to core markets once the model is proven. Targeted “gamified” promotions, such as a Christmas spend-and-win referral lottery and a January share-giveaway for new depositors, round out a strategy that blends disciplined economics with a consumer-tech growth playbook.
Best bank for large corporates 2025: HSBC
HSBC’s corporate division in Germany has reported strong performance in the review period, underpinned by both domestic and cross-border revenue growth. Managed revenues from German clients rose by more than 7% year-on-year, while inbound revenues, driven by international subsidiaries banking through HSBC Germany, surged nearly 25%. This lifted the bank’s total relevant revenues in the German large corporate space from $1 billion in 2023 to $1.1 billion in 2024, marking a robust 10% increase. Cross-border flows were another major contributor, with particularly strong growth in revenues from Germany to the US, Europe and Menat regions, each posting double-digit gains.
The bank has also enhanced its product offering to better serve Germany’s internationally oriented corporate base. A notable innovation is the use of the German Standard EBICS protocol for global payment connectivity, a unique proposition in the domestic market. In tandem, HSBCnet allows clients to manage and execute payments from accounts worldwide via a single platform. Complementing this are digital tools such as virtual accounts, virtual credit cards and the Evolve FX suite for streamlined foreign exchange execution, all tailored to large corporates’ operational needs.
HSBC’s relationship management approach has been strengthened by its globally integrated revenue measurement model, which provides a unified view of client activity across geographies. This enables more strategic engagement, especially valuable in a volatile geopolitical environment. Clients benefit from HSBC’s advisory strength on macroeconomic risks, supported by its entrenched positions in the US and China. The bank is also active in financing the green transition, exemplified by its role in supporting Sunfire’s hydrogen initiatives in alignment with Germany’s 2030 electrolysis targets.
Operational execution has been backed by impressive cases during the review period. For Aldi Nord, HSBC delivered an accelerated onboarding process covering numerous accounts with streamlined KYC and digital connectivity. Elsewhere, it has led cross-border liquidity solutions for German corporates such as Fresenius and Harting, showcasing its ability to mobilise global resources for domestic clients.
Best bank for sustainable finance 2025: ING Germany
ING Germany has undertaken a plethora of initiatives that demonstrate its industry-leading role in the transformation towards a sustainable financial sector, embodying best practices in ESG and sustainable finance disciplines.
Emphasising an integral sustainability strategy across all operations, ING Germany aligns with its parent group’s global commitments. The bank targets significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3, aiming for a 75% reduction by 2025 and pursuing net-zero by 2035 for its building emissions. This strategy includes sourcing 100% renewable electricity for its managed buildings and achieving a 90% electric vehicle fleet by 2030.
The bank has strategically expanded its sustainable finance mobilisation, with a declared goal of €150 billion ($176 billion) annually by 2027. In 2024, ING Germany contributed €18.3 billion, marking a 13% growth over the previous year. Sector-specific achievements include plans to substantially increase funding for renewable power generation, aiming to reach €7.5 billion annually by 2025. Notably, ING Germany led several significant ESG-linked transactions including arranging and structuring four major German green/ESG-linked/sustainability-linked Schuldschein transactions totaling €1 billion.
Furthermore, ING Germany supports transitioning its clients’ operations to meet net-zero objectives, evident from its “Terra” approach, developed in partnership with the 2° Investing Initiative, which focuses on aligning ING’s loan book with the 1.5-degree climate target.
These efforts are complemented by the LEED Platinum certification of the bank’s Frankfurt headquarters, underscoring the ING Germany’s commitment to high environmental standards in its own operations.
Best bank for corporate responsibility 2025: Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank has significantly deepened its commitment to social responsibility through its flagship financial literacy initiative, “So geht Geld”.
The strength of the programme lies not only in its reach but also in its structure. Developed in partnership with the Association of German Banks and the educational agency YAEZ, So geht Geld is anchored in collaboration and continuity. Deutsche Bank plays a central role in both internal and external communications and has created a robust infrastructure for the initiative, including a dedicated coordination team and a growing database of more than 1,700 trained volunteers across all business divisions. These volunteers, often repeat participants, are supported throughout the process by a core team that ensures personal guidance and operational consistency.
In 2024, the project achieved its ambitious target of training 25,000 school students across Germany, delivering over 1,000 classroom sessions with an average class size of 25 pupils. This marks a sustained push in financial education, following a steep rise in engagement over the past four years – growing from 6,750 students in 2021 to a cumulative total of 89,000 by 2024.
The scale of the programme in 2024 is underpinned by its integration into the national educational landscape, with over 500 schools engaged during the year alone. Its educational content, now covering 13 tailored topics, continues to evolve based on structured feedback from teachers and students, reinforcing its relevance and pedagogical value.
Best bank for independent advisory 2025: Rothschild & Co
Rothschild & Co has consolidated its position as a market leader in Germany’s independent advisory space, ranking first by number of M&A deals.
This dominant deal volume reflects not only client trust but also the breadth and depth of its capabilities across complex, high-profile mandates. Notable transactions include the sale of Budapest International Airport by AviAlliance, GIC and CDPQ to the Government of Hungary and VINCI Airports, and Eurazeo’s sale of DORC to Carl Zeiss Meditec AG – both emblematic of the bank’s ability to deliver on size and strategic complexity.
The bank has also expanded its role beyond conventional advisory, with clients increasingly turning to its capital solutions and investor advisory platforms for more nuanced strategic needs. Its equity markets solutions unit, blending bulge-bracket sophistication with nimbleness, has delivered bespoke financing structures that meet evolving client demands. This is bolstered by Redburn Atlantic, its equities research platform, which enhances advisory execution through investor intelligence and market insight.
Its geopolitical advisory was an undeniable source of strength, guiding clients through M&A decisions in an increasingly fragmented and volatile geopolitical environment. This capability fed directly into landmark transactions affected by regulatory and political complexity.
Its sovereign advisory team was another differentiator, demonstrating innovation in designing and executing financial strategies for government clients, including KfW’s €2.4 billion ($2.8 billion) Deutsche Telekom stake sale and Fraport’s €650 million bond issuance. The team’s pioneering financing solutions have played a transformative role in helping sovereigns manage crisis response and long-term reform.
