Mr. Niclaus Bergmann:

That is a tricky issue because I have to look back 200 years. Some 200 years ago, Sparkassen were set up in Germany by the local authorities, the municipalities or the counties. At the time, capital was not something people were talking about. It was simply that the municipality opened the door for poor people so that they could bring their deposits and get a savings pass book. That was it. Over time, this business created profits so the local communities earned money and they put that money aside. Technically, we call this retained earnings. All the capital we have today is retained earnings. There was never capital coming from the municipality. However, the municipalities are still the trustees today. One could say the municipalities are kind of owners although with limited ownership rights. The municipality has its representatives in the supervisory body of each sparkasse.