Today we had the annual “non trading partnership of building and loan association” (In German=GbR) meeting in Frankfurt. I made a small presentation concerning our ideas for Pillar III reporting.

I guess I have to explain this in detail. There are 15 private building and loan associations (so called “Bausparkassen”) in Germany. A couple of years ago 9 of these firms established a “platform” in the form of a non trading partnership to address new regulatory issues like the Basel II capital accord. During the year there are several workshops that focus on specific Basell II capital accord issues. That was an excellent idea since it gave the participating companies the chance to develop a common way of implementing new measures which are required by the regulator.
I like this idea. Why? Actually we (the participating companies) are competitors in the German market. But there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Hence the non trading partnership – which got external support by Ernst & Young – is able to achieve efficient ways to address complex issues like Basel II.

That is co-operation at its best.