Overview
- According to dpa and other outlets citing informed sources, the bank and the association agreed the Berlin rooms will no longer be available, while Deutsche Bank has limited comment to noting it did not control guest lists.
- A bank spokesperson said it had no knowledge of or influence over attendees at the association’s October parliamentary evening held at its Berlin premises.
- The association ended a federal-level contact ban in October and invited AfD Bundestag members after deciding in the spring to hold selective talks with party specialists.
- Leaders from the CDU/CSU’s business wing, the Greens and the BDI criticized the outreach as harmful to export-focused firms and European ties, and DIW chief Marcel Fratzscher warned that normalization could damage the economy.
- AfD co-leader Alice Weidel denounced the bank’s stance and praised the association, which represents about 6,500 companies and insists engagement is for substantive debate, not cooperation or coalition.