No other industry has such a presence
Association warns against overpowering financial lobby
January 7, 2024, 4:07 a.m
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The German auto industry is traditionally said to have a strong lobbying presence in the capital. A study shows that a completely different industry has almost twice as much financial resources available to reach the Bundestag and the federal government with their messages.
With 610 stakeholders, the financial industry in Berlin has a stronger presence than any other industry. According to the study “The Power of the Financial Lobby”, which the “Tagesspiegel” reports on, there is almost one financial lobbyist for every member of the Bundestag. The financial industry has a total budget of almost 43 million euros at its disposal, reports the “Citizens’ Movement Financial Transition” according to the newspaper.
The evaluation for 2022 refers to the 100 financially strongest entries in the lobby register for lobbying the Bundestag and the federal government. Accordingly, cross-industry associations such as the Federation of German Industries, with a budget of a good 40 million, have less financial power than the stakeholders in the financial sector.
In 2022, the stakeholders in the energy industry had a budget of 23.5 million euros, those in the automotive industry had a budget of 22.8 million euros and those in the chemical industry had 21.9 million euros. The Federal Association of German Banks alone spent a good six million euros on lobbying in Berlin in 2002, and the German Savings Banks and Giro Association spent a good four million euros.
The “Citizens’ Movement for Financial Transition,” which commissioned the study, sees itself as an “independent and non-partisan counterweight to the financial lobby.” The association, founded in 2018, is led by former Green MP Gerhard Schick. According to his own statements, he is committed to “fair, stable and sustainable financial markets”.
Politicians change sides
“Finanzwende” is also bothered by the fact that high-ranking political officials are switching to lobbying. Among other things, the association refers to the social democratic former Finance State Secretary Jörg Asmussen at the General Association of the German Insurance Industry or to the supervisory board membership of ex-Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, also SPD, at Deutsche Bank.
The credit card company American Express Europe recorded a remarkably high percentage increase in its budget, the study continues. From 2021 to 2022, according to the register, the company increased its annual lobbying budget by 3,000 percent: from 5,000 to 155,000 euros. Munich Re increased its budget by 251.85 percent in the same period: from 135,000 to 475,000 euros.