The decision in favour of Frankfurt as the seat of the new EU anti-money laundering authority further enhances Germany’s leading financial centre, according to Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel.
“This once again establishes the claim that Frankfurt has as a European financial centre,” he said in the central German city.
Frankfurt could “now justifiably say that it is the capital of the euro,” Nagel added.
On Thursday, representatives from the EU member states and the European Parliament agreed that the new EU anti-money laundering agency (AMLA) is to be in Frankfurt.
Frankfurt beat competition from Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Dublin, Riga, Vilnius, Vienna and Rome to host the new EU agency.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner pushed hard for Frankfurt to host the agency. He told a public hearing in the parliament in January that in Frankfurt, the agency would have everything it needs to be operational from day one.
The European Commission first proposed establishing the agency back in 2021 to crack down on money laundering and terrorist financing in the European Union.
The agency is to coordinate and support the work of national agencies with the main purpose of the new authority to boost cross-border cooperation.
According to earlier information, Germany, the state of Hesse and the city of Frankfurt intend to provide at least €10 million ($10.8 million) for the location.
Frankfurt is already home to the European Central Bank, which has been overseeing the eurozone’s largest banks as well as monetary policy since November 2014.
