Dr. Henning Berger

Partner, Berlin

Biography

“In Germany, ‘strong negotiator’ Henning Berger is the key figure, who, together with his team, provides comprehensive advice on issues pertaining to the banking union and the ECB as well as Brexit.”
Legal 500 Financial Services: Regulatory, Germany, 2020

Overview

Henning heads the firm's German Financial Services Regulatory practice. He is a highly experienced lawyer in public commercial law, with a particular focus on financial services regulation and insurance law. His practice includes advisory work as well as contentious regulatory proceedings. Henning’s clients include German and international financial institutions, as well as government and public entities. 

A focus of Henning’s practice is on the Supervision of the European Central Bank over significant European banks and related issues, including governance, ownership control and Brexit issues. Often working across multiple jurisdictions, Henning advises public institutions, banks and insurance companies on corporate and product-related issues in the financial services sector. Clients benefit from his considerable experience of supervisory law, pan-European activities of financial service providers and of insurance schemes for financial institutions. 

Armed with an in-depth knowledge and experience of the German and European regulatory landscape, Henning’s advice includes the constitutional and European Law issues of a matter. He also has more than twenty years of experience in advising on complex infrastructure projects and environmental and planning law issues. 

Henning is often recommended in the legal directories. According to Legal500 testimonials describe him as ‘Extremely experienced and highly competent‘, and that he gives a ‘Good combination of technical and litigious advice‘.

Henning is member of a number of professional organizations, including the German Bar Association, the American Chamber of Commerce Germany (Company Delegate), the German Banking Law Association and the German Association for Insurance Science.

Bars and Courts
Administrative Lawyer
Rechtsanwalt
Education
Second State Exam
Higher Regional Court of Berlin
Dr jur
University of Berlin
First State Exam
University of Berlin
Languages
German
English
French

Experience

German Savings Banks Association’s institutional protection scheme and its members Helaba, BayernLB and LBBW
Advised the German Savings Banks Association’s institutional protection scheme and its members Helaba, BayernLB and LBBW on the €3.6 billion recapitalization of Norddeutsche Landesbank (Nord/LB). 

German Federal Government/Entschädigungseinrichtung der Wertpapierhandelsunternehmen (EdW)
Successfully represented the German Federal Government and the German Investor Compensation Scheme (EdW) before the German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), the German Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) as well as several other courts with regard to the financing and investor compensation in the Phoenix Kapitaldienst case.

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank
Advised DZ Bank on its €1.5 billion capital increase. All 186.9 million new shares have been placed with shareholders at a subscription price of €7.90 per share, and as a result of the capital increase DZ BANK's Tier 1 ratio has increased to more than 10 percent. 

German Ministry of Finance
Advised on the €471 million sale of TLG Wohnen GmbH to MDAX-listed TAG Immobilien AG and on the €1.1 billion sale of TLG IMMOBILIEN GmbH to private equity investor Lone Star.

Federal State of Baden-Württemberg
Representation of the German Federal State of Baden-Württemberg with regard to the dispute on the financing of the major railway infrastructure project “Stuttgart 21”.

Federal Republic of Germany/ State of Berlin 
Advised the Federal Republic of Germany and the Federal State of Berlin the development and construction of the 16th section of the federal motorway BAB A 100 in Berlin and successful representation before the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht). 

Speaking Engagements

"New requirements for resolution and bail-in eligible liabilities" within the online practical seminar on "CRD V, CRR II and the implementation in Germany", Association of Foreign banks in Germany e.V., 08 September 2020

"Towards a harmonized system of EU investment control" within the virtual symposium "Investment Screening in the European Union", ERA Academy of European Law; 29 - 30. April 2020

"The New Investment Screening Framework: Impact on Financial Institutions", ERA's Annual Conference on Financial Regulation and Supervision in the EU 2019, Brussels, 12 - 13 December 2019

"The Hidden European Investment Screening Mechanism – The Banking and Insurance Sector", CELIS – International Conference, 7 March 2019

"The new German financing regulation for deposit guarantee systems against the background of national and European legal requirements", April 28, 2016: BdB/vbo-Fachtagung, Frankfurt, (Die neue Entschädigungsfinanzierungsverordnung vor dem Hintergrund nationaler und europäischer Vorgaben)

"HETA ASSET RESOLUTION AG - practical Update: current situation - recent developments - future outlook", May 27, 2015: White & Case Spring Seminar Series, (HETA ASSET RESOLUTION AG - Praktiker-Update: Bestandsaufnahme - Aktuelle Entwicklungen - Ausblick) (together with Markus Langen, Roger Kiem, Dennis Heuer and Karsten Wöckener)

"Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) – Joint Banking Supervision by ECB and BaFin", December 3, 2014: Humboldt-University of Berlin, Seminar for banking and capital market law, (Einheitlicher Aufsichtsmechanismus – Bankenaufsicht im Verbund von EZB und BaFin)

"Rights of Environmental Associations in Administrative Court Proceedings – On the Impact of the ECJ's,Trianel and, Slovakian-Brown-Bear- Decisions", January 14, 2014: Free University of Berlin, European Law Moot Court Colloqium, (Rechte von Umweltverbänden im Verwaltungsprozess – Bedeutung und Folgen der "Trianel"- und "Braunbär"- Entscheidungen des EuGH)

"Freedom of Information and Confidentiality-Obligations in the Financial Sector – On the Referral to the ECJ by the Administrative Court of Frankfurt of 19 February 2013", April 24, 2013: Free University of Berlin, European Law Moot Court Colloqium, (Informationsfreiheit und Vertraulichkeitspflicht in der Finanzwirtschaft – Zur Vorlage des VG Frankfurt an den EuGH vom 19 February 2013) 

Case Study on European State Aid Measures for Banks (Case-Study zur Bankenrettung), January 16, 2013: Free University of Berlin, European Law Moot Court Colloqium, (Case-Study zur Bankenrettung) (with Christoph Arhold)

"Overcoming Risks for the Financial System by Financial Institutions – Current Law and Proposals for a Banking Union and Bank Resolution Mechanisms", November 14, 2012: Humboldt-University of Berlin, Seminar for banking law and capital market law, (Bewältigung von Gefahren für das Finanzsystem durch Finanzinstitute – lex lata und Vorschläge zu einer Bankenunion und Banksanierungsregelung)

"Responsibilities of Board Members of Banks under European and German Supervisory Law", November 19, 2013: Association of German Banks/Association for banking organization symposium, (Die aufsichtsrechtliche Verantwortung von Vorstands-und Aufsichtsratsmitgliedern von Kreditinstituten)

Publications

"Ultra Vires Review of SSM- and SRM-Measures? Reflections on the Recent Jurisprudence by the Bundesverfassungsgericht", in: Lackhoff (ed.), Banking Supervision and COVID-19, BECK/HART/NOMOS 2021, Chapter R, p. 269

"The Banking and Insurance Sector", in: Hindelang/Moberg (ed.), A Common European Law on Investment Screening (CELIS), YSEC Yearbook of Socio-Economic Constitutions 2020, Springer, June 2020

"Financial Services and Brexit: Navigating towards Future Market Access", co-authored with Nikolai Badenhoop, European Business Organization Law Review (2018), p. 679

"Brexit – consequences for credit institutions" (Brexit - Folgen für Kreditinstitute), co-authored with Nikolai Badenhoop, Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Bankrecht, S. 1078) WM, 2018

"The question of the ECB's competence to supervise a Landeskreditbank" („Frage der Zuständigkeit der EZB zur Aufsicht über eine Landeskreditbank“) (pages 60-64), Banking Law, Article 70 SSM-Rahmenverordnung EUG, WuB 2018 

Banking Supervision, in: Münchener Handbuch des Gesellschaftsrechts, Mergers vol. VIII, 2018, chapter 64 

Co-author, "Freedom of information and financial supervision - Questions regarding the access to information under the European

Single Supervisory Mechanism, SSM (Informationsfreiheit und Finanzaufsicht – Fragen zum Informationszugang im ,Single Supervisory Mechanism, SSM’)", Deutsches Verwaltungsblatt, Issue 10, Pages 608-616, 2015 (with Benjamin Schirmer)

"The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) – Banking supervision in the Eurozone (Der einheitliche Aufsichtsmechanismus (SSM) – Bankenaufsicht im europäischen Verbund)", WM, Issue 11, Pages 501 – 506, 2015

Co-author, "Bundesbank Act, Nomos-Commentary. The German Federal Law (Bundesbankgesetz, Nomos-Kommentar. Das deutsche Bundesrecht)". Baden-Baden, Loose Leaf System, Status: 06/2014 (with Katrin Rübsamen)

Co-author, "Constitutional Limits of Reviews by Courts of Processing Fee Clauses in Consumer Loan Agreements (Verfassungsrechtliche Grenzen der gerichtlichen Kontrolle von Klauseln über Bearbeitungsentgelte in Verbraucherkreditverträgen)", WM, Issue 40, Pages 1877-1924, 2011 (with Katrin Rübsamen)

"New regulatory requirements for members of supervisory boards under the German Act on Insurance Supervision (Die neue Aufsicht über Aufsichtsräte nach dem VAG)", VersR, Issue 10, Pages 422-429, 2010

Awards and Recognition

Best Lawyer Germany in Insurance Law, Public Law, Regulatory Practice, Handelsblatt 2013-2023

Highly Recommended Lawyer: 
Public Law, Insurance Law, Handelsblatt Best Lawyers Germany 2020 

Highly Recommended Lawyer, Financial services: regulatory, Legal 500 Germany 2020

Highly Recommended Lawyer:
Banking and Regulatory, JUVE 2020/2021

Highly Recommended Lawyer: Public Law, JUVE 2020/2021

Highly Recommended Lawyer: 
Environmental and Planning Law, JUVE 2020/2021