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.