This book provides an up-to-date overview of the development of the German financial system, with a particular focus on financialization and the financial crisis, topics that have increasingly gained attention since the crisis and the discussion on the secular stagnation started. The authors of the bookeconomists who have conducted extensive research in this areaoffer a perspective on the financial system in the context of its importance for the overall economic system. The book not only provides detailed insights into Germanys financial system; it also takes a broader perspective on finance and connects it with current macroeconomic developments in Germany.

Introduction.- The Historical Development of the German Financial System.- The Growth of Finance and its Role since the 1980s a Quantitative Overview.- The Institutional Structure of the German Financial System.- Germanys Integration into International and European Financial Markets.- Regulation of the German Financial System.- The Nature and Degree of Competition.- Profitability of the Financial Sector and Sub-Sectors.- Efficiency of the Financial Sector.- Sources of Funds for Business Investments: Non-Financial Corporate Sector and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).- The Involvement of the Financial Sector in the Restructuring of the Economy.- Privatisation and Nationalisation Policies and the Financial Sector.- The Financial Sector and Private Households.- The Real Estate Sector and its Relation to the Financial Sector.- Financialization and Income Distribution.- Crisis and Macroeconomic Policies.- Final Conclusions.