Political dialogue

Why the political dialogue is important

, The Bank's political communication

Politicians and the public expect Commerzbank to be internationally active and comment on relevant economic policy issues regularly. As part of the democratic opinion-forming process, the bank aims to promote informed decisions that are oriented toward the common good. The focus is on explaining banking and financial market issues. We support politicians and administrators in building up and expanding their sector-related knowledge. This serves as a basis for informed decisions. Openness and transparency are incontrovertible guiding principles for this. We call this approach "smart lobbying".

Public Affairs Division

Commerzbank's Public Affairs department follows the current debate on political and regulatory issues in Germany, Europe, and internationally. In order to gain a sound understanding of issues and develop our own stances, we liaise closely with representatives from academia and research organizations. The Bank participates in events that deal with political topics. Furthermore, we engage in transparent dialogue with key political and social stakeholders. Commerzbank hosts regular events series, establishing a platform for continuous exchange of opinions and collaboration. These events include „Zukunftswerkstatt am Brandenburger Tor“, "Politisches Frühstück" and "Mittagswerkstatt/Lunch Lab".

Transparency

Commerzbank and their representatives of special interest welcome initiatives for greater transparency in political decision-making and decision-making processes. Therefore, we are registered in the Lobbying Register (German only) for the representation of special interests to the German Bundestag and the Federal Government. Here we report on our persons acting, memberships, annual expenses, and objectives of political interest representation. In addition, Commerzbank is registered in the EU Transparency Register since 2011 and reports on active participants, memberships and annual expenditure associated with political interests representation.

Political Communication Guideline

In our "Guideline for Political Communication", we follow this open and transparent guiding principle and implement the restrictions and obligations arising from the Lobbying Register Act.

In addition, Commerzbank also complies with the Guideline for Cultivation of Contacts in the Political Arena (German only) of the German Public Relations Council (DRPR) and the Political Lobbying Principles (German only) of the Association of German Banks (BdB).