BVR-ISG is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken - BVR (National Association of German Cooperative Banks), which at the same time will continue to maintain the BVR protection scheme that has remained firmly established for more than 80 years. All German cooperative banks have become members of BVR-ISG, which meets the statutory deposit insurance scheme requirements harmonized across the EU. "This means that the BVR now successfully combines European standards of statutory deposit insurance together with a proven system of protection for cooperative banks," explained Gerhard Hofmann, a member of the BVR's Board of Managing Directors.

"As far as the cooperative banks' customers in Germany are concerned, nothing will change," added Hofmann, "because bank protection will continue to precede deposit insurance. Impending financial difficulties facing affiliated institutions will be averted or remedied, which will ensure that customer deposits are fully protected. The stability of the cooperative banks and the safety of customer deposits will thus be maintained to the usual extent."

Hofmann totally rejects the EU's proposal to centralize and mutualize deposit insurance across Europe. He believes that the European institutions should give all countries a chance to allow the rules on harmonized deposit insurance and bank protection schemes - which will become legally binding throughout Europe on July 3, 2015 - to take full effect first, instead of thinking about how to redistribute funds. He stressed that the BVR remained strongly opposed to any mutualization of risk.