Trouble Ahead For State-Owned Banks in Germany

The two meetings were strictly confidential. They were not marked on anyone's schedule, none of the attendees was permitted to take notes, and there were no minutes available once they were finished. Jürgen Rüttgers, the governor of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Roland Koch, his counterpart from the state of Hesse, had only brought along their planning directors. No one was to have the opportunity to sabotage the plan the two men eventually fleshed out.

In the end the two governors, both Christian Democrats, shook hands to seal their agreement to approve a merger of their respective state-owned banks, WestLB and Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba). Koch promised Rüttgers that he would stand behind the agreement, even if it ended up being a thorn in his side in the current election campaign.