Savings Banks Finance Group calls for determined modernisation in Germany

Against the background of significant changes in the international economic environment, Helmut Schleweis, President of the German Savings Banks Association (DSGV), called for determined modernisation in Germany. Because of its great dependence on exports, but also because of specific structural weaknesses, Germany was trailing behind the world’s leading industrialised nations in terms of economic development. This would need to change, and change was possible, said Schleweis at the DSGV’s press conference on the occasion of the Annual Meetings held by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Marrakech (Morocco). 

In Schleweis’s view, the past few years had largely been characterised by globalisation, availability of products around the clock and unusually low interest rates. This phase had come to an end, and with it the doping of economic development by means of cheap money. Challenges were posed, in particular, by the four D's, i.e., deglobalisation, demographics, decarbonisation and digitalisation, which stifled growth and kept inflationary pressure at a high level. The DSGV President firmly believed that these challenges could be met by pursuing a determined policy. 

According to the Savings Banks Finance Group, the skilled labour population in Germany would decrease by nearly 9 percent by the year 2040. In the next few years, Germany would only be able to cover half of the demand for skilled labour with crucial MINT skills. To maintain the balance between people in active employment and people in retirement, Germany would need immigration in the order of up to 400,000 people who were willing and able to work. This would only be possible if Germany created a modern, demand-based immigration system. In addition, said Schleweis, it would be necessary to recruit people for a longer working life. 

Furthermore, Schleweis suggested that the energy transition should be promoted through faster and more determined action in order to preserve Germany’s economic prosperity. 

Key drivers would be a faster expansion of the power networks and storage technologies. To this end, today’s complicated and lengthy planning and approval procedures would need to be drastically shortened and simplified. In addition, digitalisation – in particular the use of artificial intelligence – would provide an opportunity for much higher productivity and significant economic momentum. More than other countries, Germany had an urgent need for this, especially in view of the shortage of labour.   

In addition, Schleweis called on Germany to overcome its passive mindset. “There is no reason to be mired in gloom.” He was convinced that “we have all it takes to implement the change we need with vigour”. In this context, he once again drew attention to the strength of Germany’s small and medium-sized enterprises. “Germany’s prospects for the future will exclusively depend on whether we can get our act together and finally tackle the challenges courageously and head on.”