Verband Deutscher Bürgschaftsbanken (VDB)

About us

We represent German guarantee banks

Learn more about the Association of German Guarantee Banks

The 17 guarantee banks and investment guarantee companies, as well as 15 medium-sized investment companies (MBGen), are members of the Association of German Guarantee Banks (VDB). The VDB represents the interests of German guarantee banks and MBGen (together with the BVK) in politics, business, and the public sphere. The association's chairman is Guy Selbherr. The VDB was founded in Bonn in 1990, and since 2008, the VDB office has been located in Berlin.

What are guarantee banks and what do they do?

Guarantee banks are credit institutions within the meaning of the German Banking Act (KWG) and support commercial enterprises and freelance professionals with credit or equity financing. The guarantees they have been providing for many decades as economic promoters are fully-fledged collateral for all house banks. Guarantees are a successful instrument combining self-help with state aid and are particularly useful from a regulatory perspective. They are available to all commercial enterprises and liberal professions and place hardly any burden on public budgets. The VDB is a member of the European Association of Guarantee Institutions (AECM) and represents the interests of its members at EU level.

What are medium-sized investment companies and what do they do?

MBGen offer equity capital as a useful supplement to traditional bank loans. Equity financing can be used to increase the economic equity ratio. The most important task of MBGen is to improve the balance sheet ratios of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises by providing long-term equity capital – usually in the form of equity-like, typically silent participations. MBGen are not profit-oriented and offer SME-friendly conditions. They do not influence the day-to-day business of their investees.