We maintain an ongoing dialog with our stakeholders so that we can find out about their plans and wishes and then incorporate them into our work.

Our key stakeholders include the cooperative banks, which are both our owners and our most important customers and account for a significant proportion of our stakeholder dialog. DZ BANK’s regional Banking Advisory Councils have proved to be an effective platform for this dialog. In all, four councils, each comprising around 40 board members from cooperative banks in the region concerned, provide advisory support to the Board of Managing Directors of DZ BANK and also fulfill an important function as multipliers and disseminators.

The Financial Services Advisory Council, which was established in early 2010, is an important committee for picking up and acting on customers’ expectations for the DZ BANK Group and DZ BANK. Its members include representatives from the cooperative banks and the BVR. The Council ensures that there is in-depth dialog with the cooperative banks regarding the development and marketing of products.

We are also in constant dialog with our employees as well as with the capital markets and our suppliers. In addition, we hold regular discussions with political representatives.