News

Celebration to mark the change of presidency at the Hesse Regional Office of Deutsche Bundesbank on 3 May 2019

At the celebration to mark the handover of presidency from Diana Rutzka-Hascher to Thomas Ollinger, Tilmann Wittershagen, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Banks in Hesse and Spokesman for the Central Region Management of Deutsche Bank AG, thanked Ms Rutzka-Hascher for the long-standing cooperation with the Hesse Regional Office of Deutsche Bundesbank. He went on to speak about banking supervision and regulation, the low interest rate environment and the challenges of digitalisation.

Bettina Orlopp at “Frankfurt meets Berlin” on 2 May 2019 in Berlin

On 2 May, Bettina Orlopp took part in a fascinating panel discussion at the “Frankfurt meets Berlin” event in Berlin – a valuable initiative which seeks to build further bridges between Germany’s political and financial capitals. In their opening speeches, Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and Mayor of Frankfurt Peter Feldmann underlined their support for Frankfurt as a business and financial centre. In the subsequent panel discussion alongside Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Member of the Bundestag for the FDP, Joachim Wuermeling, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Bundesbank, and other representatives from the business community, Bettina Orlopp stressed that a strong banking industry is hugely important to Frankfurt’s position as a financial centre. She said policymakers now needed to further strengthen its role as a business location, especially with respect to issues currently as important as digitalisation and Brexit.

Seminar for teachers

The Association of Banks in Hesse once again held a three-day advanced seminar for teachers of finance and economics at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management from 15 to 17 April 2019. The traditional joint reception was hosted by Frank Behrends, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Banks in Hesse and Member of the Board of Directors of ODDO-BHF AG. This year’s event focused on themes relating to society, banks and digital trends. The next event is scheduled for 7 to 9 October 2019.

21 March 2019 – New leadership of the Association of Banks in Hesse

• Bettina Orlopp elected new Chairman
• Sarah Schmidtke takes over management of the regional association

Frankfurt am Main, 22 March 2019 – The Members’ Assembly of the Association of Banks in Hesse has elected Bettina Orlopp, Member of the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank AG, as its new Chairman. Ms Orlopp will take up her duties on 1 April 2019 and succeeds Frank Behrends, Member of the Board of Directors of ODDO-BHF AG, who is stepping down at the end of his three-year term in office.

Frank Behrends will continue to support the Association of Banks in Hesse as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors. Lutz Raettig, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Morgan Stanley Bank AG, and Tilman Wittershagen, Spokesman for the Central Region Management of Deutsche Bank AG, remain in their posts as fellow Deputy Chairmen of the Board of Directors of the Association of Banks in Hesse.

The Board of Directors of the Association of Banks in Hesse has also appointed Sarah Schmidtke new Managing Director of the association from 1 April 2019. She takes over from Jürgen Ziebe, who has held this office since 2014 and is now retiring.

Bettina Orlopp said: “Frankfurt is an important location which is currently experiencing a lively influx of new activity. I see that as an opportunity to build on the strengths of this location. So I look forward to continuing the successful work of Frank Behrends together with Sarah Schmidtke and her team.”

Frank Behrends thanked Jürgen Ziebe for the fruitful cooperation over the last few years and warmly welcomed Sarah Schmidtke: “At a time of radical change for the financial centre of Hesse, Ms Schmidtke will strengthen our profile with her wealth of political and international experience. The Board of Directors looks forward to working with her,” said Frank Behrends.

Bettina Orlopp has been a member of the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank AG since 2016 with responsibility for legal affairs, human resources and compliance. Prior to that, she was Divisional Board Member responsible for Group Development and Strategy at Commerzbank AG and a partner at McKinsey & Company.

Sarah Schmidtke was until now Head of the Frankfurt Office of the European Banking Federation. Previously, she was a financial attaché at the British Embassy in Berlin and worked for several years in investment banking for major international banks in Frankfurt, London and Paris.

About the Association of Banks in Hesse – The association has 112 members which employ a total of around 39,000 employees and include big banks, regional banks, mortgage banks, private bankers and branches of almost all major foreign banks. Expanding and enhancing the importance of Frankfurt am Main as a financial centre is the main focus of the association’s work. It organises discussion forums to promote the exchange of ideas among its member banks. It also cooperates closely with other associations on issues of common interest and discusses issues of industry-wide relevance. The association represents the interests of its members to lawmakers and public authorities in Hesse and to the general public.

3rd Hesse Banking Congress 2019

The 3rd Hesse Banking Congress on 21 March 2019 honoured the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management’s top graduates of 2018 in Banking Studies, Banking Business Administration and Management: Ulrike Kirchner, Jan Szybalski and Marc Janich. They were congratulated by Frank Behrends, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Banks in Hesse and Member of the Board of Directors of ODDO-BHF AG, and Professor Nils Stieglitz, President and Managing Director of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

Karlheinz Walch, Deputy Head of Banking and Financial Supervision at Deutsche Bundesbank, then gave a speech entitled “Are we on the verge of a turning point? Current developments in banking supervision”. The subsequent reception offered an opportunity for further discussion.