German engineering group Siemens is
planning to start its own bank in a move principally be aimed at
expanding its financial services arm, it was reported.

The banking licence will also mean
Siemens will be able to extend its financing sources.

“With the help of a licensed credit
institution, Siemens aims to expand the product portfolio of its
financial services unit, particularly in the sales finance area,
add flexibility to group financing and optimise its risk
management,” Siemens said, in a statement published in the UK’s
Financial Times newspaper.

Siemens would be among the first German
industrial businesses to gain its own banking licence, outside the
car industry.