NRW.BANK

NRW.Bank (incorporated as NRW.BANK) is the state development bank[3] of North Rhine-Westphalia based in Düsseldorf and Münster. Its status is that of a public agency. It is owned by the North Rhine-Westphalia state[4] and supports its structural policy.

NRW.Bank
TypeAnstalt des öffentlichen Rechts
(public agency)
IndustryBanking, Financial services
Founded2002
HeadquartersDüsseldorf and Münster
Area served
Germany
Key people
Andreas Pinkwart (Ex-Officio member of the Supervisory Board)[1]
Eckhard Forst (Chairman)
Gabriela Pantring
Michael Stölting
Dietrich Suhlrie[2]
Total assets147,583,809,613.28 euro (2017) 
Number of employees
1,348
Websitewww.nrwbank.de
Headquarters of NRW.Bank in Düsseldorf
Headquarters of NRW.Bank in Münster

History

NRW.Bank was separated from WestLB in 2002.[5]

In 2015, NRW.Bank was included in a European Central Bank list of European institutions and national agencies whose bonds would be eligible for the ECB to buy alongside sovereign debt.[6]

Assignment

The bank was assigned to act as a community development financial institution.[7]

Activities

The bank hands out development loans and manages refinancing. Attracting strong criticism, the bank used Credit Default Swaps (CDS).[8] The refinancing by CDS, though thought to be safe by the bank,[9] was illegal.[10]

Controversy

In April 2015, NRW.Bank filed a lawsuit against Austrian "bad bank" Heta Asset Resolution AG for failing to pay €275.5 million in bonds following the suspension of its debt, imposed by Austrian financial regulators.[11] The North Rhine-Westphalia state government subsequently asked German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble to intervene and "to do what is politically and legally possible so that contracts or commitments are met."[12]

References
  1. "Company Overview of NRW.BANK". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  2. "Executive bodies of NRW.BANK". NRW.BANK. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  3. To be compared with US Community development bank
  4. "Owner structure". NRW.BANK. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  5. James Wilson (September 26, 2011), Finance industry: Demise of WestLB is a sign of changing times Financial Times.
  6. Marc Jones (March 5, 2015), ECB will "gradually" lend back government bonds it buys Reuters.
  7. "Satzung der NRW.Bank vom 24. September 2015" (in German).
  8. "NRW.Bank wegen Kapitalanlagen in der Kritik" (in German). Handelsblatt. 2012-03-26.
  9. (in German) "Diese CDS "referenzieren überwiegend auf Staaten und befinden sich nahezu ausschließlich im sehr guten und guten Investment Grade-Bereich. Mit einer Inanspruchnahme wird derzeit nicht gerechnet" in NRW.Bank, Financial report 2013,page 106
  10. (in German) VGH NRW, Urteil vom 13. Dezember 2011, Az: VGH 11/10
  11. Jonathan Gould, Andreas Kroener and Maria Sheahan (April 14, 2015), Germany's NRW Bank sues over Austrian bad bank bonds Reuters.
  12. Matthias Inverardi (April 16, 2015), German state asks Schaeuble to intervene in Heta case Reuters.
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