At the European level, sources of law are the regulations, which are directly applicable in all member states, and the directives, which have to be transposed into national law.

Legal norms in Germany consist of laws and statutory orders. These are also fleshed out in BaFin circulars and guidance notices.

The Basel framework encompasses all applicable standards issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The Bundesbank played a substantial part in formulating all of these standards.