The total number of credit institutions in Germany (including legally dependent building and loan associations) fell by a net figure of 55 throughout the year, from 1,458 to 1,403 institutions. While the consolidation process had been subdued, especially as of 2008, it has tended to pick up pace again since 2016 – partly due to idiosyncratic factors: the coronavirus crisis, the entry into force of Brexit and the introduction of the Investment Institutions Act (Wertpapierinstitutsgesetz).