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Capital relief follows remediation
BaFin has removed a capital surcharge imposed on flatexDEGIRO Bank and lowered the flatexDEGIRO Group's Pillar 2 Requirement (P2R) by 100 basis points, to 1.50% from 2.50%. The online broker announced the decision on 27 October 2026. The P2R is an additional capital requirement set by BaFin through its regular Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP).
The reductions reverse supervisory measures that followed a special audit of flatexDEGIRO Bank and its parent on 8 September 2022. The group's P2R was 4.25% before December 2024; BaFin brought it down to 2.75% that month, then to 2.50% in January 2026. The latest cut leaves the requirement 275 basis points below its earlier level in under two years, according to Finance Magnates' calculation.
Buyback still needs approval
BaFin fined the bank €1.05 million in February 2023 and required changes to controls covering anti-money laundering and supervisory reporting. A special representative monitored the work until 30 September 2024.
Oliver Behrens, previously head of Morgan Stanley's European bank in Frankfurt, became chief executive the following day. Behrens, now chairman of the management board and CEO, said the surcharge's removal reflected progress since the 2022 audit. The bank was also fined €560,000 in December 2025 over websites that promoted free investing without highlighting a processing fee, relating to conduct in early 2022.
Benon Janos, appointed a second CEO in September to lead retail trading expansion, said the lower capital requirement gives the company greater choice in allocating funds. FlatexDEGIRO sought BaFin's consent on 15 October to repurchase up to €100 million of shares, approximately $112 million.
The proposal is twice the €50 million programme completed in May 2025 and depends on authorisation shareholders granted in June 2024. Under Articles 77 and 78 of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), the buyback requires the supervisor's approval, as Finance Magnates reported.
| Measure | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Group P2R | 1.50%, down from 2.50% |
| Proposed share repurchase | Up to €100 million, about $112 million |
| First-half 2026 net income | More than €115 million |
| Second-quarter profit | €61 million, up 55% year-on-year |
| Second-quarter settled transactions | 21.9 million, up 22% |
| First-half net cash inflow from customers | €5.2 billion |
| Customer accounts at end of June | 3.66 million |
| Expected net income growth this year | 25% to 43% |
| Dividend approved in June | 30 cents per share, about €32 million in total |
Where this lands in the stack
The decision changes the capital constraint used in the group's planning, but the announcement does not identify a platform migration or a change to trading systems. Treasury and risk teams will need to reflect the 1.50% P2R and the removed surcharge in their capital calculations, while keeping the proposed repurchase conditional on BaFin's approval.
Operations teams should check which capital reports and controls consume the prior requirement, and how any approval for the buyback will be recorded and reconciled. The announcement gives no technical detail on reporting-system changes or implementation timing. Those remain questions for the firm and its supervisor.
