Frankfurt occupies a special position in the German financial sector. The number of employees in banks and financial service providers has been growing for many years, bucking the national trend. According to the Federal Employment Agency, a good 614,000 people worked in financial institutions, stock exchanges, leasing companies and the like across Germany last year, a tenth fewer than in 2013. At the same time, the corresponding figure in Frankfurt rose by 11% from 62,200 to 69,200.
The discrepancy becomes even clearer when looking more closely at the banks. While around 607,000 people worked in traditional financial institutions and the Bundesbank in 2013, ten years later the figure was only 510,000, almost 100,000 or 16% fewer.
The nationwide shrinkage observed in the banks is offset by an increase in jobs in stock exchanges and clearing houses, venture capitalists and custodian banks, leasing and factoring companies as well as special credit institutions, mortgage banks and card service providers – albeit at a significantly lower level. In Frankfurt, on the other hand, even the number of banks increased during this period, rising by 6% to 53,800. Helaba’s financial centre experts attribute this to the fact that experts in regulation, sustainability and digitalization are concentrated in the numerous corporate headquarters in continental Europe’s most important financial centre.
Frankfurt also has a pull effect as a supervisory hub. In addition to the Bundesbank employees, there are also those who oversee the financial system at the ECB and BaFin. The green standard setter International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has set up shop, and the anti-money laundering authority AMLA will follow. According to the plans, it will have around 400 employees by 2028.
The special nature of employment trends in Frankfurt also means that the financial center is growing in relative importance. While 9.1% of those employed in the German financial sector worked there in 2013, the proportion rose to 11.3% by 2023.
Source: Börsen-Zeitung, Right of secondary publication