P R E S S

R E L E A S E

07 January 2021

Financial Centres Found "GERMANY FINANCE" Working Group
Stuttgart - The initiatives of majorGerman financial centres founded the GERMANY FINANCE
working group at the beginning of 2021. The participating organisations have thus initiated ajoint platform to further promote the continuous exchange among each other and to provide acentral point of contact for people from Germany and abroad who are interested in Germany asa financial centre.
The founding of the initiative is very much welcomed by the Federal Ministry of Finance. State
Secretary Dr. Jörg Kukies says: "The diversity of Germany's financial centre is a great locational
advantage. It is important that Germany Finance now bundles this diversity to give Germany's
financial centre a unified voice both nationally and internationally. A broadly positioned, globallynetworked and high-performing financial sector in Germany contributes to the recovery of theeconomy after the COVID pandemic and helps to meet the challenges posed by the digitaltransformation and climate protection."
The working group is also in close contact with Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), the economic
development agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. GTAI Managing Director Dr. Robert
Hermann says: "The financial sector plays a fundamental role in the smooth functioning of theeconomy and is an important key infrastructure which we promote internationally. The newGERMANY FINANCE platform will significantly support this important goal in the future and leadto success as well as further push the exchange with international contacts."
Voices of the founding members of GERMANY FINANCE:
Dr. Harald Vogelsang, Chairman of the Board of Finanzplatz Hamburg e.V.: "The diversity ofGermany's financial centres is a strength. It stands for the excellent provision of local financial
services to companies and citizens. We are pleased to work with the other German financial
centre initiatives within the framework of GERMANY FINANCE to strengthen the industry and tocommunicate the efficiency and attractiveness of Germany as a financial centre more stronglyinternationally, too."

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GERMANY FINANCE – Working Group of the German Financial Centres
c/o Vereinigung Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse e.V. - Stuttgart Financial  Börsenstraße 4  70174 Stuttgart
Contact: Dominik Schütz (Sprecher)  Telefon +49 (0) 711 222 985 726  Schuetz@stuttgart-financial.deProf. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energyof the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and founder of Fin.Connect.NRW: "Innovation andcooperation open up opportunities. Clever ideas, promising concepts and investments are thebest means of harnessing opportunities for the financial centre, for companies and investors
alike, especially in challenging times. I therefore very much welcome the cooperation of ourrecently founded Fin.Connect.NRW initiative with GERMANY FINANCE."
Gerhard Wiesheu, President Frankfurt Main Finance e.V.: "The German financial centres are
dealing with the same issues to varying degrees of intensity. The focus is on current challenges
posed by Brexit and the Corona pandemic, megatrends such as sustainability and digitalisation
as well as social issues such as economic education and the public's trust in the financial industry.
Through the GERMANY FINANCE working group efficient solutions can be found, based onindividual experiences in the individual German financial centres."
Dr. Michael Völter, Board of Directors of Vereinigung Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörsee.V. (sponsor of Stuttgart Financial): "We are proud to be able to accompany the expansion of
the working group from the very beginning. The financial services industry is facing greatchallenges and changes. Due to the decentralised nature of the financial centres it is essential
to work on a uniform external image and to maintain a continuous dialogue between the playersin order to achieve sustainable further development and competitiveness of Germany's financial
centre."Contact for press enquiries:
Dominik Schütz (Spreaker GERMANY FINANCE)
Phone +49 (0) 711 222 985 726
Schuetz@stuttgart-financial.de
About GERMANY FINANCEGERMANY FINANCE is an informal association of German financial centre initiatives from Berlin,Frankfurt, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Stuttgart. Its common goal is to strengthen
Germany as a financial centre in the German, European and international context, to give it aface and to be the contact for interested parties in Germany as a financial centre from Germanyand abroad. You can find more information about the working group on www.germanyfinance.com.
Founding Members:Frankfurt Main Finance e.V.
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GERMANY FINANCE – Working Group of the German Financial Centres
c/o Vereinigung Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse e.V. - Stuttgart Financial  Börsenstraße 4  70174 Stuttgart
Contact: Dominik Schütz (Speaker)  Telefon +49 (0) 711 222 985 726  Schuetz@stuttgart-financial.deFinanzplatz Hamburg e.V.
Fin.Connect.NRW - Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Innovation, Digitalisierung und Energie desLandes Nordrhein-Westfalen
Stuttgart Financial - Vereinigung Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse e.V.
Other financial centre organisations:
Finanzplatz München Initiative (Observer Status)
Berlin Finance Initiative (in formation) - Ostdeutscher Bankenverband e.V.

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GERMANY FINANCE – Working Group of the German Financial Centres
c/o Vereinigung Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse e.V. - Stuttgart Financial  Börsenstraße 4  70174 Stuttgart
Contact: Dominik Schütz (Speaker)  Telefon +49 (0) 711 222 985 726  Schuetz@stuttgart-financial.de