That's true, too. There are lots of so called "Volksbanken" ("peoples' banks") and "Sparkasse" ("savings bank", see this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_

That's true, too. There are lots of so called "Volksbanken" ("peoples' banks") and "Sparkasse" ("savings bank", see this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_bank https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_bank) which act very local and are sometimes rather small especially in the more rural areas. Nevertheless those banks are often the biggest lenders to local businesses and startups in need of credit (my brothers' wife is working in such a department) although that is not VC like in "burn it if you need to". German banks are more risk averse, at least the most of them.