FAQs

The EdB is an authority that protects customers’ bank deposits up to 100,000 euros if a bank becomes insolvent. The Federal Ministry of Finance has entrusted the EdB with the task of implementing statutory deposit protection and investor compensation for its assigned banks in the event of a bank becoming insolvent.  

If a bank goes bankrupt and can no longer pay its customers back their money, the EdB will compensate those customers. The EdB can compensate up to a maximum of 100,000 euros per customer and bank. This is known as a compensation event. A compensation event must first be determined by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). Only then is the EdB permitted to start the compensation process.

All banks in Germany that accept money from customers must belong to a deposit guarantee scheme. The banks protected by the EdB can be found here.

The savings and cooperative banks are not part of the EdB, they have their own guarantee scheme.

You can find a list of the banks that are assigned to the EdB here. If your bank is not listed, then check
•    if you’ve entered its full name correctly
•    whether it’s an independent bank or just a brand name

If your bank is not with the EdB, then it could belong to another scheme, such as the German Savings Banks Association, the protection scheme of the National Association of German Cooperative Banks or the Compensatory Fund of Securities Trading Companies (EdW).

If your bank is a branch office of a foreign bank, please contact, e.g. the following bodies:
•    Dutch banks: De Nederlandsche Bank N.V. 
•    Austrian banks: Einlagensicherung AUSTRIA Ges.m.b.H.
•    Luxembourg banks: Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts Luxembourg 

Banks are required to regularly inform their customers about the protection of their deposits. To do this, they send out an ‘Information sheet for depositors’ once a year.

This letter does not mean your bank is in financial difficulty. You do not have to do anything when you receive this information sheet. If there is a compensation event, the Deposit Guarantee System of Private Banks will contact you directly.

Further Information

The legally required target amount for the EdB is 0.8% of covered deposits. The EdB reached this amount in 2024. 

The EdB receives annual contributions from its assigned banks. This money is then used to compensate customers when a compensation event occurs. The amount of this contribution is largely determined according to the total amount of customer deposits held at the bank. If necessary, the EdB can require its banks to pay special contributions. The EdB has also built up reserves over the years, which it can utilise in an emergency. The amount of contributions and reserves is governed by legal stipulations, ensuring that sufficient funds are always available.

Compensation claims are limited to 100,000 euros per person and per bank – regardless the number of accounts.

In special cases, compensation can be up to 500,000 euros. Specifically, when certain life events occur. Depositors must provide evidence of these special cases to the EdB in writing. Such events include:

•    the sale of a private flat or house,
•    marriage, divorce or death,
•    reaching retirement age,
•    redundancy or dismissal and
•    the birth of a child, illness, the need for nursing care or disability.

These higher amounts are protected as long as the compensation event occurs within six months of the money being debited to the account.

Yes, but only up to a total of 100,000 euros, i.e. the compensation amount including interest may not exceed 100,000 euros. This is a legal stipulation. Interest is calculated up to the date on which the compensation event was determined.

Compensation will always be paid in euros. The ECB exchange rate on the day the compensation event was determined is used to calculate the conversion from other currencies.

Accounts in foreign currencies are also protected by the EdB. However, the EdB always pays out compensation in euros.

The EdB protects private individuals, private companies and corporations. It does not protect, e.g. deposits owned by banks, financial service providers, insurance firms or public bodies.

Deposit protection covers current accounts, call accounts, fixed term deposits, savings accounts and savings bonds if held in the name of the depositor. It does not protect, e.g. bearer notes and certificates.

Up to 100,000 euros per person and per bank are protected – regardless of how many accounts you have. With joint accounts, the amount is divided equally among the account holders, unless otherwise agreed when the account was opened.

Example: A married couple have a joint account with 80,000 euros. In addition, the woman has a separate account with 30,000 euros, the man also has one with 70,000 euros. The compensation amount would then be as follows:
Woman: 40,000 euros from the joint account + 30,000 euros = 70,000 euros
Man: 40,000 euros from the joint account + 60,000 euros = 100,000 euros

Trust accounts are not attributed to the account holder, but to the trustor. In order for it to be protected the account must be clearly identified as a trust account.

As a rule, securities held in securities accounts are not protected, they belong to the customer. In the event of an insolvency, customers can transfer their securities accounts to another bank, provided that the insolvent bank has no claims against them.

Exception: If a bank cannot give the securities back to their owners, the EdB protects 90 % of the liabilities from the securities transactions, up to a maximum of 20,000 euros.

Liabilities from securities transactions refer to the financial obligations of a bank or financial institution resulting from transactions or agreements relating to securities. These liabilities usually arise when the bank or institutions has to perform certain services for the customers relating to the bought or sold securities.

For example:

1.    Payment of dividends or interest: The bank is obligated to pay the customer dividends from shares or interest from bonds that they hold on the customer’s behalf.
2.    Repayment of nominal value: If a customer invests in fixed-interest securities (e.g. bonds), the bank is required to pay back the nominal value of the bonds to the customer when due.
3.    Provision of securities: When customers sell their securities, the bank is required to provide the buyer with the relevant securities and transfer the proceeds to the seller.
4.    Settling buying or selling orders: If customers place a buying or selling order for securities, the bank must implement the transaction and transfer the purchase price or proceeds accordingly.
5.    Costs or fees: The bank is required to calculate and manage certain fees or costs as a part of securities transactions, such as trading or administration fees.

These liabilities ensure the bank meets its contractual obligations and provides the customer with the relevant services or payments. The bank also has financial obligations as part of its role as an intermediary and custodian of the securities for the customer.

These accounts should not be considered joint accounts of the partners, but as accounts of the partnership. The GbR itself has an entitlement to compensation of up to 100,000 euros.

If the bank has its head office in Germany and a branch office in the EU or EEA, customers are protected through the EdB.

The same applies vice versa, namely when a bank has its head office in the EU and branches in Germany. The nationality of the customer is irrelevant.

Yes, even after a bank merger, up to 100,000 euros per customer is protected. Depending on which scheme the new bank is assigned to, deposit protection will continue to apply under the EdB or another scheme. Deposits at the previous bank and the new bank are added together.

They will still belong to you. In a moratorium or in the event of insolvency, the bank can apply for permission from BaFin to open your deposit box for you.

If your bank becomes insolvent, you are entitled to compensation in accordance with Section 5 of the Deposit Protection Act (Einlagensicherungsgesetz, EinSiG) and Section 5(2) EinSiG in conjunction with Sections 3–5 of the Investment Compensation Act.

Disputes of this nature can be settled in a civil court.

Compensation is ruled out when:
• No activity has been recorded on the account in the last 24 months
and
• The account balance is less than the EdB’s administrative costs (currently 20 euros).

A moratorium is the stage before a compensation event is determined, i.e., before a bank becomes insolvent. It means that the bank is not allowed make any payments (e.g. withdrawals or transfers) or sell any assets. The bank may only continue to accept customer payments intended to repay debts. Customers must continue to repay loans.

A compensation event occurs when BaFin determines that the bank
• is no longer able to pay back deposits,
• can no longer meet its obligations from securities transactions or
• if the moratorium is in place for longer than six weeks.

The EdB may only begin compensating depositors once BaFin has determined the compensation event. When this happens, the EdB immediately informs all protected customers that BaFin has determined the compensation event and what the next steps are.

The compensation process consists of the following steps:

• The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) determines the compensation event. 
• The EdB identifies the depositors and verifies their entitlement to compensation.
• The EdB informs customers automatically by post and requests their bank details and a copy of proof of identity. 
• If all the required documents are in order, the EdB transfers the money to the account specified by the customer.
• If the bank is also a member of the Deposit Protection Fund of the Association of German Banks (BdB), the fund settles the compensation. This means that during the compensation process, the Deposit Protection Fund will contact the customer.
More information here.
 

No. The EdB will contact the affected customers directly and inform them what happens next.

There are two exceptions:

• Amounts that temporarily exceed the normal coverage level (up to 500,000 euros) must be proven in writing to the EdB. This could be, for example, due to the sale of private real estate or from severance pay. This money must have been transferred to the account within the past few months. The customer must inform the EdB of these exceptional cases.
• Claims from securities transactions must be registered within one year of BaFin determining the compensation event.

You will get your money back via the EdB within seven working days of BaFin determining the compensation case. How long it takes precisely will depend, among other things, on the number of customers and the internal organisation of the bank.

If the EdB does not receive a response from the customers it has notified, their right to claim compensation expires after five years.
Customers must register claims from securities transactions at the EdB within one year of BaFin determining the compensation event. 
More information is available here.

Deposits of more than 100,000 euros in Germany are often protected through voluntary deposit guarantee schemes. For example, many private banks are members of the Deposit Protection Fund of the Association of German Banks (BdB). 
Alternatively, customers may also assert their claims for amounts above 100,000 euros in the insolvency proceedings.

Yes, during a moratorium or compensation event, you must continue to pay off your loans.

If the bank has its head office in Germany and a branch office in the EU or EEA, customers are protected through the EdB. Deposits of up to 100,000 euros are covered – per person and bank – even if your account is at a branch office in another EU/EEA member state.

And the same applies vice versa, when a bank has its head office in the EU and branches in Germany. The nationality of the customer is irrelevant.