Frankfurt wants to promote itself across Europe to attract more financial institutions and startups to the River Main. „We want to bring more international business to Frankfurt“, says Florian Rentsch, the Hessian state government’s Special Representative for the Frankfurt financial center, in an interview with Börsen-Zeitung. „We’ve still got some spare capacity in Frankfurt.“

He is particularly thinking of finance companies from sectors that are still underrepresented in the city, such as asset managers, venture capital firms, and startups. In Frankfurt, they would find a well-developed ecosystem that their presence could further enrich.

„The interaction between diverse players is crucial for a financial centre that wants to be universal and broadly positioned. We already have established banking structures with plenty of dominant players“, observes Rentsch. He sees room for improvement in creating an innovation-friendly environment for startups. This is one of six key priorities defined in the financial centre strategy recently adopted by the Finanzplatzkabinett – a body bringing together representatives from politics and the financial industry, including Hessian Minister President Boris Rhein and the CEOs of Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, DZ Bank, KfW and Helaba. Their common goal: strengthening Frankfurt as a financial hub.

There are already plans to highlight the advantages of Frankfurt in European cities with strong financial sectors and startup scenes. For companies, it would make sense to engage with the financial center of the eurozone’s largest economy. „That’s why we can confidently say: anyone who wants to capture this market will find themselves in good hands in Frankfurt".", says Rentsch. The city should have the ambition to compete on a European scale – with rivals such as Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Zurich and Luxembourg.

„We don’t intend to take business away from other German financial centres – quite the opposite“, assures Rentsch. Therefore, the focus of location marketing will be directed abroad. „We want to make our mark in Europe“, he stresses.

To achieve that, the financial centre initiative Frankfurt Main Finance is expected to take on a more prominent role. The Finanzplatzkabinett wants to strengthen it significantly. The new strategy calls for Frankfurt to expand its „presence and visibility on the global stage“ under the Frankfurt Main Finance brand. The initiative is to serve as a central coordination point and a platform for developing and advancing new ideas.

Members of the association will now have to determine how to implement these plans. „Discussions are already underway on how Frankfurt Main Finance should be structured, and by the end of the year we’ll have found an appropriate setup“, explains Rentsch.

Another idea, according to Rentsch, is to consolidate the many financial centre–related events organised by different players under the umbrella of Frankfurt Main Finance. „The idea is to create a common platform where everyone can present their activities“, he notes.

Since Brexit, much has already been done to raise Frankfurt’s profile. City, state and federal authorities have promoted the location effectively, Rentsch says, but „there’s still room to step it up.“ As a former Hessian economics minister and current chairman of the Association of Sparda Banks, Rentsch knows both politics and finance well. Frankfurt’s position as continental Europe’s leading financial center, he warns, „is not set in stone – it must be earned again and again. We need to attract more banks and European institutions – and make sure the ones already here feel at home.“

Following Britain’s exit from the EU in early 2020, several foreign banks moved jobs, and sometimes their EU headquarters, from London to Frankfurt – including J.P. Morgan. According to earlier estimates by Helaba, the Brexit effect has created about 3,500 jobs in Frankfurt. The arrival of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) has also been a success story for the city.

Even so, Frankfurt recently slipped from 11th to 12th place in the Global Financial Centres Index compiled by the London-based think tank Z/Yen Group. Rentsch takes it as motivation: „It shows that our competitors aren’t asleep. It’s a warning not to stand still. But we also like to look at who commissioned the study“, he says with a smile. He remains tight-lipped when asked about a potential setback – the possible takeover of Commerzbank by UniCredit, saying only „that’s for the market to decide.“

To further strengthen Frankfurt as a financial centre, the Finanzplatzkabinett aims not only to attract foreign financial institutions and skilled professionals but also to create the conditions for establishing key technologies. According to the newly published strategy paper, it plans to support the development of infrastructure for quantum technology and a European AI „gigafactory“ – a large-scale data centre designed for developing, training and deploying AI models. The European Union has announced plans to build five such multibillion-euro facilities, with competition among potential sites across Europe already intense. In addition, the Finanzplatzkabinett wants to use the arrival of the AMLA as a catalyst to build an AI ecosystem that will help combat financial crime.

Another step under consideration is to reinforce Frankfurt’s link to the federal government. „We are in talks with Berlin to identify a dedicated contact person for financial center issues“, notes Rentsch. For now, Minister President Boris Rhein plays the key liaison role – helped by what many describe as his good relationship with Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Florian Rentsch has been chairman of the Association of Sparda Banks since July 2017. Before that, he spent many years in politics, serving as Hessian Economics Minister from 2012 to 2014 and as leader of the FDP parliamentary group in the state parliament from 2009 to 2012 and again from 2014 to 2017. Born in Kassel in 1975, he studied law in Frankfurt and Mainz. In November 2024, he was appointed to his role as the Hessian state government’s Special Representative for the Frankfurt financial center.