Finance in Berlin

Berlin has no central bank branch or stock exchange to anchor a finance district the way Frankfurt does, so its financial-services sector grew around its banks, insurers and, more recently, its fintechs. The city counts 652 companies in financial services with about 13,500 employees, according to Berlin Partner for Business and Technology, and 28 central banks and credit institutions maintain a presence there.

The Berlin Finance Initiative represents this sector to policymakers and works alongside the city's FinTech hub to expand and connect Berlin's financial-services companies. Its members range from established banks and insurers to the neobanks and trading apps that put Berlin on the fintech map over the past decade.

A bank, insurer or investment firm in Berlin answers to the same national and EU rules as one in Frankfurt or Munich. BaFin licenses and supervises credit institutions, payment institutions and investment firms from Bonn and Frankfurt, so Berlin has no regulator of its own, and a firm's compliance and legal teams in Berlin work against the same rulebook as their counterparts on the Main.

Investment firms and asset managers in Berlin apply MiFID II to client business, and a firm that offers crypto-asset services needs authorization under the EU's MiCA regulation. The EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) applies directly since January 17, 2025, and it treats a bank's technology suppliers, including the fintech platforms several Berlin banks rely on, as part of the bank's own risk management.

Traditional finance in Berlin still runs through its banks and insurers first. The Berlin Finance Initiative's principles call for a diverse and sustainable financial sector, and the city's finance scene covers corporate banking, insurance, asset management and technology-driven finance.

Finance Loop started in Frankfurt and holds events in Berlin as well, where it is a meeting place for people who work at banks, insurers, asset managers and fintechs, alongside IT and AI people from the wider finance sector. It connects the finance, IT and AI communities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Finance Loop's Bitcoin for Investors masterclass runs for professional investors and asset managers in Berlin as well as Frankfurt and Munich. Related pages: fintech in Berlin, wealthtech in Berlin, payments in Berlin and crypto in Berlin.

The Berlin Finance Initiative is an economic-policy group that represents Berlin's finance and technology sector, working to grow and connect the city's banks, insurers, exchanges, investors and fintechs. It is a partner of Berlin's FinTech hub and promotes the sector on topics such as diversity, sustainability and skilled workers.

No. Frankfurt hosts the European Central Bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank and Deutsche Börse and is Germany's supervised financial center. Berlin's finance sector formed later, around its fintechs, insurers and a smaller banking base, and BaFin supervises Berlin firms from Bonn and Frankfurt, since it has no Berlin office.