The 537 Sparkassen (savings banks), mainly owned by municipalities, and the 12 Landesbanken, regional banks owned by state governments and savings-banks associations, account for 39% of domestic retail and corporate deposits and 35% of bank lending.

ECONOMIST: German banks

The central government has tried to aggregate distribution into six regional bodies, but the plan has run into opposition from municipalities, which are reluctant to lose their electricity revenues unless properly compensated.

ECONOMIST: Electricity in South Africa: Power struggle | The