Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus

Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus eG was a German cooperative bank (Genossenschaftsbank) headquartered in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in the Hochtaunus district of Hesse. Its roots reach back to 1870, when the oldest predecessor institution, Raiffeisenbank eG Oberstedten, was founded in Oberstedten; a cooperative agreement was signed in 1874 and entered in the cooperative register. Over more than a century the bank grew through mergers with local savings and loan associations in Kalbach, Bommersheim, Steinbach, Wehrheim and Obernhain, and it changed names several times — from Volksbank Frühling eGmuH and Spar- und Darlehnskasse Oberstedten to Raiffeisenbank eGmbH, Raiffeisenbank Oberursel eG in 2007, and finally Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus eG in 2019, when its seat moved from Oberursel-Oberstedten to Bad Homburg vor der Höhe. The bank served retail and small business customers in the Hochtaunus region and, under the brand MEINE BANK, marketed online banking products nationwide. Its website advertised MEIN Girokonto (a free current account), girocard and Debit Mastercard, MEIN Tagesgeld and MEIN Festgeld savings products, digital self-services, an online branch, a chatbot and a digital estate-handling service called NachlassDialog. The bank described itself with the motto "Digital. Einfach. Unabhängig." and positioned itself as a modern cooperative bank for customers who manage their finances online, with lean processes, fair terms and full control. In October 2022 the bank became the first in Germany to announce that it would close all branches and dismantle all its own ATMs, keeping only its headquarters in Bad Homburg; at the end of 2022 it still had five branches, in Bad Homburg, Frankfurt-Kalbach, Steinbach (Taunus), Oberursel (Taunus) and Wehrheim. A advisory branch was opened at the headquarters site. The bank ran into severe difficulties after the German real-estate crisis. In February 2025 the German federal financial supervisory authority BaFin prohibited it with immediate effect from commercial real-estate financing, which had been the focus of its business, citing high losses from write-downs and an unusually high number of issued cooperative shares. It later emerged that the bank had posted a loss of more than 500 million euros in 2024, mainly from write-downs on real-estate loans. In March 2025 merger plans with Volksbank Mittelhessen eG were announced; in April 2025 CEO Achim Brunner resigned for personal reasons and Frank Klomfaß, previously of Volksbank Mittelhessen, joined the board. In May 2025 it became known that the cooperative would need support from the protection scheme of the Bundesverband der Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken, and by August 2025 the required amount was reported at around 503 million euros, with more than 40 percent of a 1.245 billion euro loan book considered at risk of default. On 26 August 2025 the representatives' meeting approved the merger with Volksbank Mittelhessen with 95.9 percent of votes, retroactive to 1 January 2025, after the Volksbank Mittelhessen representatives had approved it on 18 August 2025. The merger was entered in the cooperative registers on 9 October 2025, and Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus eG was absorbed into the Gießen-based cooperative.

The history of Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus begins in 1870, when the oldest predecessor institution, Raiffeisenbank eG Oberstedten, was founded in Oberstedten. In 1874 the articles of association for a cooperative were signed and the entity was entered in the cooperative register. In 1922 the cooperative bank was renamed Volksbank Frühling eGmuH, and in 1950, in the aftermath of the 1948 currency reform, it merged with the Raiffeisen-Warengenossenschaft Oberstedten eGmuH (founded 1915) to form Spar- und Darlehnskasse Oberstedten e.G. mbH. In 1967 it merged with Spar- und Darlehnskasse Kalbach eGmbH and Spar- und Darlehnskasse Bommersheim eGmbH. As the institution transformed from a goods cooperative with money transactions into a modern credit institution, it was renamed Raiffeisenbank eGmbH in 1972. Further mergers followed: with Spar- und Darlehnskasse e.G. Steinbach (Taunus) in 1978 and with Raiffeisenbank eG Wehrheim in 1994; the latter had itself merged with Spar- und Darlehnskasse Obernhain eG in 1979. The bank was affiliated with the protection scheme of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken and its additional voluntary BVR Institutssicherung GmbH. In 1995 the bank and administration building in Oberstedten, occupied since 1972, was expanded. In 2007 the bank was renamed Raiffeisenbank Oberursel eG with its main seat at Hauptstraße in Oberursel-Oberstedten. In 2019 it was renamed again to Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus eG and its seat moved from Oberursel-Oberstedten to Bad Homburg vor der Höhe; the Oberursel-Oberstedten branch, previously the main office, was closed on 30 June 2019. In 2020 the bank celebrated its 150th anniversary and founded the group financing platform "Viele schaffen mehr" to support charitable projects and initiatives in the region. Until 2022, alongside the nearly free online account, it also offered a current account costing 30 euros per month focused on on-site service. In October 2022 it became known that Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus intended to become the first bank in Germany to close all branches and dismantle all its own ATMs, keeping only the headquarters in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe; at the end of 2022 the bank had five branches, in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Frankfurt-Kalbach, Steinbach (Taunus), Oberursel (Taunus) and Wehrheim. At the current site the bank opened an advisory branch offering advice on all financial matters; it shared the building complex with the German headquarters of the pharmaceutical company Lilly. In February 2025 it became known that the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht had prohibited Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus from commercial real-estate financing, which formed the focus of its economic activity, with immediate effect. The reasons were high losses from write-downs due to the crisis on the German real-estate market and a high number of issued cooperative shares compared with other cooperative banks. It subsequently emerged that the bank had recorded a loss of more than 500 million euros in 2024, mainly based on write-downs of real-estate loans. In March 2025 Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus announced merger plans with Volksbank Mittelhessen eG. During the merger talks, on 14 April 2025 it became known that CEO Achim Brunner had resigned his office as chairman of the board with immediate effect for personal reasons. A successor came from the merger partner in Gießen: the supervisory board appointed Frank Klomfaß to the board; he had most recently been head of credit management at Volksbank Mittelhessen and had also served for many years as authorized signatory and since 2021 as Chief Risk Officer of the bank. In May 2025 it became known that the cooperative would need help from the protection scheme of the Bundesverband der Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken because of the high losses. In early August 2025 it became known that around 500 million euros would be needed, and that given a loan book of 1.245 billion euros, more than 40 percent of all claims were at risk of default. In newer reports about the merger the financial need was put at 503 million euros. On 26 August 2025 the representatives' meeting approved the merger with Volksbank Mittelhessen with 95.9 percent of representatives' votes, retroactive to 1 January 2025, after the representatives' meeting of Volksbank Mittelhessen had already approved it on 18 August 2025. Media reports described this as a rescue merger. The merger with Volksbank Mittelhessen eG was entered by the competent registry courts on 9 October 2025 under cooperative register numbers 119 and 302. Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus eG was thereby absorbed into the cooperative registered in Gießen.

• 2025

  BaFin prohibited commercial real-estate financing; merger with Volksbank Mittelhessen agreed and registered

• 2022

  Announced closure of all branches and ATMs, first German bank to do so

• 2020

  150th anniversary; founded group financing platform "Viele schaffen mehr"

• 2019

  Renamed Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus eG; seat moved to Bad Homburg; Oberstedten branch closed

• 2007

  Renamed Raiffeisenbank Oberursel eG with main seat in Oberursel-Oberstedten

• 1995

  Bank and administration building in Oberstedten expanded

• 1994

  Merged with Raiffeisenbank eG Wehrheim

• 1978

  Merged with Spar- und Darlehnskasse Steinbach (Taunus)

• 1972

  Renamed Raiffeisenbank eGmbH as it became a modern credit institution

• 1967

  Merged with Spar- und Darlehnskasse Kalbach and Spar- und Darlehnskasse Bommersheim

• 1950

  Merged with Raiffeisen-Warengenossenschaft Oberstedten to form Spar- und Darlehnskasse Oberstedten

• 1922

  Renamed Volksbank Frühling eGmuH

• 1874

  Cooperative agreement signed and entered in the cooperative register

• 1870

  Oldest predecessor institution, Raiffeisenbank eG Oberstedten, founded in Oberstedten

Modern cooperative online banking under the motto "Digital. Einfach. Unabhängig." — lean processes, fair terms and full control for self-directed customers.

• MEIN Girokonto

  Free current account for online banking customers

• MEIN Tagesgeld

  Call money savings account with promotional interest

• MEIN Festgeld

  Fixed-term deposit with terms up to 5 years

• girocard

  Debit card for payments and ATM withdrawals

• Debit Mastercard

  Debit card for worldwide payments and online shopping

• NachlassDialog

  Digital service for handling estate cases

• 2024 loss of over 500 million euros and BaFin prohibition

Read more

1. 1Willkommen bei MEINE BANKmeinebank.de
2. 2MEINE BANK - Ihre Online-Bankmeinebank.de
3. 3Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunusde.wikipedia.org
4. 4Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunuswikidata.org