Richarda Danielczick stands on the square in front of the Göttingen regional court on a cold Friday morning in January, with a button from the Grandmas Against the Right on her jacket. She is outraged. “It was only in the summer that I demonstrated in front of the Sparkasse Göttingen because they had given the AfD an account,” she says. At that time, a friendly representative from the Sparkasse came to the demonstrators and asked for their understanding, she remembers: The Sparkasse was obliged to give the AfD an account.
Today she is protesting against being fired. The savings bank has cut off its business relationship with the prisoner aid organization Rote Hilfe. Danielczick finds it impossible to give the AfD an account and take it away from the Reds. No one in charge of the Sparkasse is visible today – neither among the perhaps three dozen protesters nor in the regional court, which is deciding on the termination in an urgent procedure.
Nerves are on edge, on all sides. Rote Hilfe fears for its existence after the Sparkasse Göttingen and the cooperative bank GLS closed their accounts. She assumes that the naming of Antifa Ost on the US sanctions list prompted the financial institutions to do so – because Rote Hilfe provides legal aid for members of East German Antifa groups. At least in the case of Sparkasse Göttingen, this connection was confirmed before the regional court. In Göttingen, private individuals and left-wing groups are protesting against the Sparkasse. Contact the GLS Bank Thousands of customers and organizations in an open letterso that she can take back the termination. The damage to the image is enormous.
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House bank of German civil society
Because it is not just any financial institution. It is the house bank of German civil society. There are around 11,000 accounts from charitable, social and activist organizations here, plus several hundred thousand private customers. They are all united by the desire for a bank that does not make money from exploitation, child labor or questionable large-scale projects in the Global South, but rather invests in organic farms, renewable energies, affordable housing and other sensible projects. Financial institutions with similar demands include the Environmental Bank, the Ethics Bank or the Pax Bank for Church and Caritas. According to its own statements, Rote Hilfe tried to get an account at the Ethics Bank – in vain.
Precisely because GLS Bank has high ethical standards, many customers are upset. For them, the bank’s behavior is part of the pressure exerted against civil society organizations – for example by the Revocation of the non-profit status of groups like Attac or one Question from the Union in the Bundestag on the financing of NGOswhich was seen by many as an attack on civil society. Customers expect GLS Bank to behave in solidarity. And: Not only the accounts of the Red Aid were cut off, but also those of the German Communist Party (DKP). GLS Bank does not want to comment on data protection issues. In its reaction to the protest against the layoffs, it hides behind the term “regulatory requirements”.
In fact, banking secrecy is sacred in Germany. Violating this can have drastic consequences, such as high fines. That’s why the financial institutions can barricade themselves behind it. In the termination letter to Rote Hilfe dated December 17th, the GLS Bank clerk did not give any reasons. “After the notice period has expired, we will close and settle your accounts,” the letter says. That’s February 28th. It is unclear whether or how many other organizations the account terminations affect. Those who are kicked out of their bank often have difficulty finding a new one. If a termination is made public, it becomes even more difficult. That’s why organizations where something like this happens keep a low profile.
Does Trump have access to German organizations?
Despite possible problems, Rote Hilfe decided to make the terminations public. “We asked 20 banks and received no answer or a negative answer,” says Federal Executive Board member Hartmut Brückner. Without accounts, Rote Hilfe cannot receive donations or membership fees, cannot pay legal aid and has to stop its work. She sees a political background with immense consequences: Donald Trump’s sanctions list. In November the US government classifies Antifa East as a foreign terrorist organization classified. A few weeks before the termination, the GLS Bank sent Rote Hilfe an inquiry about Antifa East. That’s why the organization sees a connection here.
If this is confirmed, Trump would have access to German civil society. Every organization, every publisher, every person that ends up on the US sanctions list would have to expect drastic consequences. The GLS does not want to comment on the specific cases. But she rejects the accusation of giving in to pressure from the USA. “We do not terminate accounts of people and groups from the democratic spectrum for political reasons or in connection with the sanctions policy of the current US government,” says board member Dirk Kannacher. The DKP and Rote Hilfe locate the bank in the democratic spectrum.
Like Rote Hilfe, the DKP received notice of termination from the GLS Bank without justification. Four accounts belonging to the party executive committee and eleven from sub-divisions were closed at the end of the year. The communists have at least partially found an alternative. The party executive board has moved to Sparkasse Essen, and four branches also have new bank details. But seven didn’t – two of which were rejected by a savings bank. The DKP wants to take legal action against this. “There were no discussions with GLS Bank before the terminations,” says DKP Federal Treasurer Klaus Leger. Last September, the bank received an inquiry about the party’s Cuban activities, which it responded to, according to Leger. A few weeks later, GLS Bank sent the notice of termination. That is why the DKP also establishes a connection to US sanctions policy.
Apparently not isolated cases
Termination due to US sanctions against Cuba would not be permitted. There are a number of judgments about this. Last July, for example, the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court declared an account termination invalid because it violated the EU Blocking Regulation (10 U137/23). This regulation prohibits compliance with US sanctions against Cuba and Iran.
Im Red Aid urgent proceedings against the Sparkasse Göttingen The Göttingen Regional Court made it clear that it does not accept US sanctions as a reason for termination in other cases either. The savings bank’s lawyer actually cited the naming of Antifa Ost on the US sanctions list as a reason for the expulsion. The savings bank fears being excluded from the Swift system, she said. This would make international business almost impossible for the credit institution. Another reason: Because of the money laundering control rules, the effort for the savings bank to check Red Aid’s sales is too high.
The court did not allow either of these to apply; the savings bank must initially continue to operate the accounts. Whether it will stay that way is uncertain. The main proceedings are still pending. Rote Hilfe has not yet filed a lawsuit against GLS Bank. Taking action against the Sparkasse is more likely to be successful because, due to its public nature, it cannot simply refuse customers – banks are allowed to do that.
The fact that savings banks and banks are reacting to mentions on the US sanctions list is not an isolated case, says lawyer Anna Orlowa from the Rexus law firm, which specializes in financial market law. She observes that credit institutions preemptively close accounts because they believe they can avoid conflicts with US authorities. “Banks are terrified of violating US sanctions,” she says. Like Sparkasse Göttingen, they fear being excluded from international financial transactions.
Bafin checks more frequently
In Orlowa’s experience, it is more important for credit institutions to protect themselves than their customers. This also and especially applies to dealing with financial supervision. Banks and savings banks in Germany are controlled by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin). The guards have a large arsenal of sharp swords when they discover rule violations. This ranges from fines to criminal proceedings to the appointment of special investigators. In the past ten years, financial supervision has become much more aggressive in finding violations of the Money Laundering Act.
Bafin says it is carrying out more special audits of cooperative banks. According to the lawyer’s experience, they pass on the pressure. “Banks are quick to block accounts when Bafin comes,” she says. “They often block the accounts first and then see what legal basis this is possible.” This is increasing, she observes.
Law professor Kilian Wegner from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg fears that the problem of debanking will expand. “The US government could add additional actors to the sanctions list at any time,” he says. Like the Red Aid, they are then threatened with losing their economic existence. In the long term, he is convinced that the EU will have to decouple its financial system from the USA. And defend yourself against Donald Trump’s long arm in the short term. The alternative is to give up your own sovereignty.
The EU is definitely capable of acting. It could expand the EU blocking regulation. This would prohibit credit institutions from terminating the accounts of organizations and private individuals in the EU because they are named on the US sanctions list. The Council of the European Union, in which the governments of the EU member states are represented, would be responsible for this. Wegner: “But no one has taken the initiative to do this yet.”
The taz is a customer of the GLS Bank and Discussing the issue of terminating the accounts with their board of directors.