German industrial conglomerate Siemens planned to set up a bank of its own as a response to funding difficulties seen during the financial crisis, the company said yesterday.
Spokesman Marc Langendorf said Siemens aimed to expand the product portfolio of its financial services unit, boosting the sales finance area, adding flexibility to the group's financing and optimising its risk management.
However, it would not provide retail banking services. Langendorf said "the financial crisis has shown that financing has to be broadly spread across several banks in order to minimise the risk".
Siemens has submitted an application to Germany's banking authority. - Sapa-AP