As the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany, a member of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and part of the public administration, the Deutsche Bundesbank particularly relies on the trust of the general public, its counterparties and the institutions it supervises to be able to perform its tasks successfully. This trust is based not only on specialist knowledge but also on the impartiality and integrity of the members of the Bundesbank’s governing bodies and of its staff. They all have to meet high ethical standards to maintain the institution’s credibility and to avoid even the mere appearance of less than full legal compliance and objectivity or of conflicts of interest when performing their tasks. Maintaining and protecting the reputation of the Deutsche Bundesbank is a constant and shared task for all Bundesbank staff, and contributes to the institution’s ability to fulfil its statutory tasks and meet its strategic objectives.

In order to implement regulatory compliance requirements, the Deutsche Bundesbank has internally established a separate unit which reports directly to the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Compliance is independent from other divisions of the Bank and autonomous. The compliance system inter alia features provisions and mechanisms for dealing with conflicts of interest, preventing insider dealing and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. This also includes the prevention of any other criminal offences directed against the Bundesbank’s assets – for instance, the prevention of corruption, including rules regarding the acceptance of benefits and gifts. In addition, a whistleblower office (Hinweisgeberstelle) has been set up in the Compliance unit, where staff, counterparties or other persons can report serious misconduct. The Bundesbank regularly holds internal training and employee awareness measures on compliance issues; rule violations are investigated immediately and systematically.