Hamburg Finanzplatz Hamburg, the Senate and the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce today signed a masterplan for Hamburg’s financial sector. In order to be able to tackle the major challenges facing Hamburg, such as climate neutrality, digitalisation, the mobility revolution and urban development, a high-performance and sustainable financial sector is indispensable.
In line with these political, economic and social objectives, the city, the chamber of commerce and the financial sector want to shape the future of the financial sector in Hamburg in an innovative and sustainable way and thus position one of Germany’s historically most important financial locations for the future in the demanding competition of comparable financial locations.
With the Masterplan, the signatories have agreed on the starting signal for closer cooperation in defined fields of action. The first concrete measures have been identified and are to be implemented jointly over the next few years. The partners of the Master Plan want to work together to ensure that these measures have an impact and contribute to broadening and sustainably strengthening Hamburg as a financial centre for the Hamburg economy as a whole.
Central topics of the Masterplan are securing skilled labour and science, digitalisation and modern working environments, the promotion of FinTechs as well as sustainable and green finance. The national and international visibility of Hamburg as a financial centre is also to be significantly improved.
Dr Harald Vogelsang, Chairman of Finanzplatz Hamburg e.V.: „We are pleased to take the constructive cooperation with the city to a new level and to work hand in hand for a future-oriented location. This is also in the interest of the companies and citizens of our city, who should continue to have a diverse range of financial services available locally. Only with strong financial service providers will we be able to master difficult situations in the future and manage the sustainable transformation of our economy. Strengthening the financial centre is therefore also strengthening our city! For a strong financial location, it is important to develop an excellent educational offer that attracts the brightest minds from home and abroad. The Masterplan shows ways to enter into a structured dialogue with the universities and to develop successful solutions. In addition, we want to resolutely expand Hamburg’s good foundation in sustainable finance. Hamburg should become one of the top addresses in the field of sustainable finance on a German and European level!“
Finance Senator Dr. Andreas Dressel: „To ensure the future viability of the financial sector in Hamburg, key questions must be addressed: How should the transformation towards a climate-neutral city be financed? How do we also shape the mobility transition, digitalisation, demographic change or other megatopics on the financing side? How can we continue the successful Hamburg path of new housing construction, also with a view to financing? We will only be able to answer these and many other real economic, social or political questions with a strong Hamburg financial sector. In overcoming the Corona crisis, financial policy and the financial sector have achieved a great deal for the benefit of the real economy, and we want to build on this. Securing jobs in Hamburg as a financial centre is also particularly important to me. In view of the consolidations of the last few years, the aim must also be to leverage new potential for future-proof jobs in Hamburg’s financial sector.“
Dr. Malte Heyne, Chief Executive Officer of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce: „The Masterplan is the starting signal for stronger cooperation and for more innovative impulses for Hamburg as a financial centre, which can thus fulfil its cross-sectional function for the Hamburg economy as a whole even better. The challenges for Hamburg’s economy are great. In coping with the fundamental change towards a more digitalised, climate-neutral economy, our entrepreneurs need a strong Hamburg financial sector across the board. This is one of the core demands of our location strategy ‚Hamburg 2040‘. We therefore expressly welcome the master plan and look forward to a successful implementation with the City of Hamburg and the financial centre of Hamburg for Hamburg’s economy.“
Niels Pirck, Vice President of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce: „Financing options and financial services such as payment transactions or insurance are the ‚oil in the engine of the economy‘. Ensuring the financing of innovations through an efficient range of services offered by Hamburg’s local banking industry is therefore of particular importance for the further development of the location. The task now is to use the master plan to bundle the forces of politics, administration and business for a strong, modern financial location. There is potential in particular in the financing of future technologies and the establishment of FinTech and InsurTech start-ups. In order to leverage this potential, the existing strengths of the financial centre must be made better known in the future. The master plan contains many sensible measures for this purpose.
Finanzplatz Hamburg e.V.
c/o Handelskammer Hamburg
Adolphsplatz 1
20457 Hamburg