Securities trading in Germany is decentralized and, except for trading between banks on the secondary market, is conducted primarily on eight exchanges (Berlin, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich and Stuttgart). The Frankfurt exchange, however, is by far the largest German market for securities; internationally it roughly ties London for third place behind New York and Tokyo.

A new institution founded in Frankfurt am Main in 1992 was the “Deutsche Borse AG", a holding comprising the Frankfurter Wertpapierborse (Frankfurt Securities Exchange), the Deutsche Terminborse (DTB; German Futures Exchange), the Kassenverein (Clearing House) and the Wertpapierdatenzentrale (Securities Data Centre). Today the Deutsche Borse AG is one of the foremost providers of stock and securities exchange services in Europe. The German Futures Exchange has likewise expanded considerably since its founding in 1989. In 1996 it handled over 77.31 million standardized (derivative) contracts. Frankfurt am Main is also the seat of the European Monetary Institute, the Deutsche Bundesbank, and several hundred domestic and foreign credit institutions (including major banks) and brokers.