mmercial bank with total assets of �754 billion (2010). In 2009, Commerzbank merged with competitor Dresdner Bank, then the third-largest German bank. Due to the merger and the higher credit risks, Commerzbank was partially nationalized (25 percent) during the financial crisis in 2009. It is listed in the DAX stock market index. The Headquarters of Commerzbank are at Commerzbank Tower (259 metres), the tallest building in the European Union, at Kaiserplatz in the financial district.
KfW Banking Group is a government-owned development bank which was formed in 1948 as part of the Marshall Plan to rebuilt Germany after World War II. Today KfW provides loans for purposes prescribed by the KfW law at lower rates than commercial banks, especially to medium-sized businesses. With total assets of �442 billion (2010) it is Germany's third-largest bank. The KfW Headquarters are located in the Westend district at Bockenheimer Landstra�e and Senckenberganlage.
DZ Bank is the central institution for more than 900 co-operative banks (Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken) and their 12,000 branch offices in Germany and is also a corporate and investment bank. It is the fourth-largest bank (total assets: �383 billion) in Germany. As a holding, the DZ Bank Group defines itself primarily as a service provider for the local Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken and their 30 million clients. The DZ Bank Headquarters are the Westend Tower and the City-Haus at Platz der Republik, not far from Frankfurt Central Station. The DZ Bank Group includes Union Investment, DVB Bank and Reisebank, which are also headquartered in Frankfurt.
Landesbank Hessen-Th�ringen, or short Helaba, is the central federal bank (Landesbank) for the federal states of Hesse and Thuringia. As such it is state-owned and defined as a service provider for the local german public banks (Sparkassen). Helaba is one of nine Landesbanken and is the fifth-largest in Germany. It is located in the 200-metres tall
