On the contrary, banks often play a very important role for enterprises and for the economy as a whole. They act as mediators between those who invest capital and those who need it. They finance investments, they take on and manage risks, they settle payments and they play a supporting role for enterprises in IPOs.
That means that businesses need banks, but that banks also need businesses. As at the end of last year, German banks and savings banks had lent a total of far over € billion to domestic enterprises alone – that corresponds to just under 12% of their consolidated balance sheet total.