Federal Financial Supervisory Authority

Prior to 2002, in Germany the regulation of the financial industry was undertaken by three separate agencies. In May 2002 BaFin was formed, following the passing of the Financial Services and Integration Act. The aim of the Act and the merging of the three agencies was to create one integrated financial regulator that would be able to cover all financial markets. The agencies that merged together were the Federal Banking Supervisory Office, the Federal Supervisory Office for Securities Trading, and the Federal Insurance Supervisory Office.BaFin was given further responsibility following the passing of the Banking Act in 2003 with the aim of increasing customer protection and improving the reputation of the German financial system. The extra powers included monitoring the credit-worthiness of financial institutions and collecting detailed information about them. This particular area of responsibility was shared with the Bundesbank. Currently, BaFin is experiencing a kind of transition, as the responsibility for banking supervision is being taken over by the European Central Bank.