A lot is happening in Frankfurt's financial district. Several banks, supervisory and regulatory authorities have recently announced plans to relocate, including Commerzbank, ING Deutschland, Frankfurter Sparkasse, ECB Banking Supervision, and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). The recent past has already been marked by notable relocations, with examples such as DekaBank, Citi, and Oddo BHF. Additionally, the new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) has set up in the Messeturm.

The attractiveness of the banking district is unquestionable, observes Michael Kubik, Head of Office Leasing at Canadian real estate service provider Avison Young in Germany. „The banks remain loyal to Frankfurt’s city centre.“ While this may not be the case in every instance, as seen with ING and DWP Bank, which are relocating to more peripheral areas, the general trend remains unchanged. „A lot is happening within a radius of 800 meters“, he says, referring to the concentration process in the central areas.

ING recently announced plans to move its German headquarters to Ostend, far from the banking district. By 2028, it will relocate from Theodor-Heuss-Allee 2 near the Messe to the 16-story HPQ building in the Hafenpark district, leasing 32,000 square meters for its 3,000 employees in Frankfurt. DWP Bank, meanwhile, plans to leave Frankfurt entirely. In 2026, it will vacate its current location on Wildunger Straße in Bockenheim in favor of Eschborn, where it will occupy a renovated office building at Kölner Straße 5.

Nevertheless, financial institutions are increasingly concentrating in the banking district, as evidenced by the number two player on the financial scene. „Commerzbank wants to bring employees from decentralised locations to the city centre“, notes Avison Young expert Kubik. Although the future is uncertain due to takeover efforts by Unicredit, he believes Commerzbank will focus on two locations: its existing headquarters, the Commerzbank Tower, and the Central Business Tower, which will be completed by 2028.

In February, Commerzbank signed a lease agreement with Helaba, the developer and owner, for space in the Central Business Tower, which is still under construction. From 2028, it will lease more than 73,000 square meters across 52 floors for 15 years.

The bank states that it aims to optimise existing spaces and release those no longer needed. As part of its location strategy, both existing properties and new developments are continuously evaluated. „This review is currently underway for the headquarters and will determine how our real estate portfolio in the Rhine-Main region will look in the future“, says Commerzbank. In February, the bank announced plans to cut 3,900 full-time positions by 2028, with 3,300 of those in Germany, mostly in central and staff functions as well as operations. If a takeover by Unicredit occurs, the reductions are expected to be significantly expanded.

In addition to its headquarters, Commerzbank currently operates two other active sites in the Rhine-Main region: the service center on Mainzer Landstraße 151–157, and the Vitreum in Eschborn. Currently, the major bank employs 8,730 people in Frankfurt (headcount). It has already vacated the Cielo office complex at Theodor-Heuss-Allee 102, and the Lateral Towers at Neue Börsenstraße 1.

Location is becoming increasingly important, notes Kubik's colleague Christian Ströder, Director of Market Intelligence/Research at Avison Young. „The central locations – banking district, city centre, and Westend – together account for 20% of Frankfurt's office stock of around 12 million square meters. But from 2022 to 2024, they represented 35% of the requested spaces, and in the first quarter of 2025, that figure rose to 46%.“ According to him, the jump is mainly due to the leases by Commerzbank and the US law firm White & Case. The latter is moving into the Central Parx, just around the corner, as announced in February.

On one hand, vacancy rates in Frankfurt are rising, observes Ströder. On the other hand, there is a lack of high-quality spaces in prime locations. New spaces are expected to be scarce initially. „In these central locations, fewer than 20,000 square meters of newly built or fully renovated space will come to market by the end of next year“, he states.

Commerzbank alone will occupy nearly four times that amount in the Central Business Tower.

DekaBank is consolidating its workforce at two locations, one in the city centre and one on the outskirts. In October, the securities house of the savings banks completed the move of its headquarters with 900 employees from the Trianon on Mainzer Landstraße to Tower 1 of the new FOUR skyscraper complex just a few hundred meters away. In 2022, a new building in Lyoner Straße 13 in Niederrad was occupied, providing space for up to 3,500 employees. Deka has relinquished office spaces in Hamburger Allee, the Skyper in Taunusanlage, and the Prisma in Niederrad in recent years.

Recently, Citigroup and Oddo BHF completed more significant moves. In early 2023, the US bank relocated its German headquarters from the Frankfurter Welle behind the Alte Oper to a seven-story new building opposite the stock exchange at Börsenplatz. Around 500 employees will work there in 10,000 square meters.

Oddo BHF moved into 18,000 square meters in the former executive building of Dresdner Bank on Gallusanlage 8 last year. It had previously been located at Bockenheimer Landstraße 10, where White & Case will now settle.

Frankfurter Sparkasse will set up its new six-story headquarters at Hauptwache 1, right in the heart of the city, by the end of 2027. The usable area will be 10,000 square meters. Helaba’s retail subsidiary will have to vacate its current home at Neue Mainzer Straße 47–55, as the building is being demolished to make way for a new theater.

Asset manager Universal Investment has also moved. In February, it relocated its headquarters from the IBC Tower on Theodor-Heuss-Allee 70 near the Messe to the new Timber-Pioneer building at Europa-Allee 92–96, with a space of around 8,500 square meters. About 800 employees are affected.

Geographical changes are also occurring among the regulators. ECB Banking Supervision, with 1,670 employees, will move to the Gallileo skyscraper at Gallusanlage 7 in the Bahnhof district by the end of the year. The ECB supervisors currently located next door in the Japan Center will follow in 2028. The ECB is leasing 38,000 square meters in Gallileo.

The Messeturm is becoming a supervisory hub, with AMLA's anti-money laundering officials and 200 insurance regulators from EIOPA settling there. The lease for EIOPA in the Westhafen Tower will expire in mid-2028. AMLA plans to be fully operational in 2028 with 430 employees. Both agencies will share conference spaces.

The Deutsche Bundesbank is spread across multiple locations, mainly in the city centre. While its headquarters on Wilhelm-Epstein-Straße is under renovation, it has taken temporary office space at the Frankfurt Büro Center (FBC) on Mainzer Landstraße. Additional offices are located near Trianon and Signaris, in the main administration in Hesse, and in the Skyper and Prime Tower in Niederrad.

For now, things remain unchanged at the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The green standard-setter, located at Opernplatz, had previously announced its intention to move. However, there is no immediate plan to relocate, according to a spokesperson.

Allianz Global Investors is reportedly on the lookout for new premises. Its current lease at the Triton building on Bockenheimer Landstraße 42–44 in Westend is still valid for a few more years, according to a spokesperson, who said that "planning for the future has begun, but there is no concrete plan or final decision at this time.“

The tenant mix at the financial center has shifted recently, notes Avison Young. While law firms, notaries, and accounting firms were once the largest demand group, the structure has now shifted back in favour of financial institutions. The strength of the financial hub is reflected in the increased number of employees and „the quantity and importance of relevant institutions and authorities.“

The number of bankers in the city has been steadily rising for years and is expected to continue growing in the near future, states Helaba in a report. „There is a trend of concentration in the banking sector in Frankfurt, which is likely to continue“, says Ulrike Bischoff, financial hub expert at the landesbank.

„This increasing focus over the past years is also supported by the fact that Frankfurt, with its corporate headquarters, is only marginally affected by the branch closures seen elsewhere in the country," he added.

In Q3 2024, 71,800 people were employed in social security-covered jobs in Frankfurt. The number is expected to rise to 73,500 by the end of 2025, after which a decline is anticipated. This would align the city's employment development with the nationwide trend of declining numbers in the sector. „Given demographic trends, personal expansion is expected to slow in the coming years“, says Bischoff. Additionally, restructuring in the German banking sector is expected to have an impact.