The Wealth Wingwoman Audit
Audited by Valerie Vance"The showdown between Consorsbank and flatex is a battle between two institutional heavyweights of the German-speaking wealth corridor: a full-service French-backed direct-banking conglomerate versus an independent, flat-fee execution machine. Both desks eliminate the primary bureaucratic nightmare of German retail investing: neither forces you to file an Anlage KAP or calculate the German advance lump sum (Vorabpauschale) on accumulating ETFs by hand. Both are fully steuereinfach for German tax residents—automatically withholding the 25% Abgeltungsteuer (plus solidarity surcharge and church tax), tracking your Freistellungsauftrag (€1,000 for singles, €2,000 for married couples), and netting gains against your domestic loss pots (Verlusttöpfe). Assuming they offer the same service because both handle domestic taxes is an expensive mistake. Consorsbank—backed by the balance sheet of eurozone banking giant BNP Paribas—is built to run your entire family’s balance sheet across checking accounts, mortgages, Eurex options, and tax-advantaged junior depots. flatex—operating under flatexDEGIRO Bank AG—strips away consumer banking bloat to focus on an independent, flat-rate trading desk offering unconditional free ETF savings plans and a cross-border tax bridge into Austria."
The Tale of the Tape
Consorsbank is the full-service direct-banking fortress. Operating as a primary brand of BNP Paribas S.A. Niederlassung Deutschland, it pairs French statutory deposit insurance (€100,000 per depositor via the FGDR) with voluntary membership in the private German BdB deposit protection fund. It is built for wealth accumulators who want an integrated institutional hub where checking accounts (Girokonto), child custody accounts (JuniorDepot), consumer mortgages, and long-term investments live behind a single login.
flatex is the seasoned discount execution house. Regulated under a German banking license via flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, it protects deposits under Germany's statutory deposit guarantee scheme (EdB). It avoids retail consumer products like checking accounts and credit cards to focus on a dedicated investment platform: delivering a flat €7.90 order ticket on standard venues, thousands of free ETF savings plans, and an integrated securities-backed Lombard line (flatex flex-Kredit).
The Fine Print Reality Check
Both brokers automate your German tax compliance, so the real battle is fought over order ticket scaling, savings plan transaction drag, cross-border tax reach, and institutional deposit rails.
- The Lump-Sum Execution Gap (€7.90 Flat vs. €10 to €70): flatex charges a fixed base fee of €5.90 per order plus a flat €2.00 third-party fee (Fremdkostenpauschale), making your total ticket €7.90 on standard electronic venues (Tradegate, gettex, Lang & Schwarz) regardless of trade size. Consorsbank runs a variable banking pricing schedule: €4.95 base fee + 0.25% of the order volume, with a minimum of €9.95 and a maximum cap of €69.00. On a €10,000 lump sum, Consorsbank costs €30.90, while flatex still executes the trade for €7.90. On a €50,000 allocation, Consorsbank hits its ceiling at ~€70.00, while flatex remains anchored at €7.90.
- The ETF Savings Plan Economics (€0 on All ETFs vs. The 1.50% Non-Promo Trap): flatex offers €0 execution fees across all ETF and fund savings plans (over 1,800+ ETFs) with a €25/month minimum. (Stock savings plans carry a 1.00% fee). Consorsbank charges a default 1.50% fee per execution on standard ETF and stock savings plans (minimum €10/month). A €500 monthly investment in a non-promotional fund costs you €7.50 every month—that is €90 every year out of your principal.
- Custody Terms (€0 vs. €0 Unconditional): Both brokers provide unconditionally free depot management (€0) with zero recurring activity hurdles or mandatory trading quotas.
- Cross-Border Tax Automation (The Austrian Advantage): While both brokers handle the German Abgeltungsteuer, flatex holds a significant cross-border advantage via flatex.at. For Austrian tax residents, flatex.at is fully steuereinfach—automatically withholding Austrian Capital Gains Tax (KESt) and managing Austrian tax filings. Consorsbank operates under German tax residency rules and does not offer automated Austrian KESt withholding.
- The Family Banking Moat (JuniorDepot): This is Consorsbank’s institutional trump card. Consorsbank offers a legally recognized JuniorDepot opened directly in your child’s name. This allows parents to allocate assets to their children to take full advantage of the minor's independent basic tax allowance (Grundfreibetrag exceeding €11,000/year) plus their €1,000 Sparer-Pauschbetrag, legally shielding capital gains and distributions from household income taxes. flatex is designed exclusively for adult accounts.
- Derivatives & Trading Desks (Eurex Options vs. Premium OTC Certificates): Consorsbank caters to active derivative traders by offering direct execution on exchange-traded options and futures on Eurex, CME, and CBOT via dedicated trading software. flatex focuses its derivative trading on over-the-counter (OTC) leveraged certificates and knock-out warrants via Premium Partners, but does not provide direct access to exchange-listed vanilla options chains for retail accounts.
The Fine Print Translation
flatex is a streamlined execution machine: charging an unconditional €7.90 flat fee on discrete trades, offering €0 fees on all ETF savings plans, and supporting Austrian tax residency. Consorsbank gives you a full direct-banking suite with tax-advantaged JuniorDepots and a Eurex options desk, but penalizes large discrete trades with a 0.25% volume rake and taxes non-promotional savings plans at 1.50%.
The Daily Driver Test
Your platform experience depends entirely on whether you want an all-in-one financial dashboard or an independent trading desk.
Consorsbank operates like an established digital banking portal. From a single interface, you can manage your primary checking account (Girokonto), review Visa debit card balances, transfer cash to overnight deposits (Tagesgeld), and monitor your investment depots. Setting up an automated monthly ETF savings plan takes sixty seconds. For active chartists and derivative traders, Consorsbank offers Active Trader—a downloadable desktop trading workspace featuring real-time push quotes, customized order entry, and multi-exchange routing.
flatex feels like an agile trading floor. The flatex next mobile app is streamlined for clean, fast execution, while the flatex WebFiliale provides order book depth, direct exchange routing, and fast access to over-the-counter derivative desks. Setting up automated ETF savings plans is straightforward (minimum €25/month), and managing your flex-Kredit collateral is visible at a glance. flatex strips away consumer banking distractions: no personal loans, no checking overdraft notices, just market data and execution tools.
The Wingwoman Allocation
Don’t default to one legacy brand out of habit. Allocate your capital based on transaction size, family structure, and geographic tax residency:
- Deploy with flatex if: You execute large lump-sum equity or ETF trades (€5,000 to €50,000+), where flatex’s flat €7.90 ticket beats Consorsbank’s 0.25% percentage fee by dozens of euros per execution. You invest in broad-market index ETFs via automated monthly savings plans and want unrestricted access to all ETFs at €0 order fees, without being confined to a promotional list. You are an Austrian tax resident needing a fully steuereinfach broker that automatically deducts Austrian KESt. You want seamless access to a securities-backed credit line (flex-Kredit) for short-term liquidity.
- Deploy with Consorsbank if: You are investing for your children and want a JuniorDepot to exploit their personal basic tax allowance (Grundfreibetrag) and €1,000 Sparer-Pauschbetrag. You actively trade exchange-listed options and futures on Eurex, CME, or CBOT. You want an all-in-one financial home base integrating your checking account (Girokonto), debit cards, and consumer financing under BNP Paribas. You execute ETF savings plans strictly within their curated roster of zero-fee StarPartner ETFs.
Your Wingwoman Move
If you are an independent investor building your own wealth through monthly ETF savings plans and occasional lump-sum stock purchases, do not let Consorsbank skim 0.25% off your lump sums or risk a 1.50% fee on non-promotional savings plans. Open your investment depot at flatex, automate your core index ETFs with €0 execution fees, and use their flat €7.90 ticket to keep execution costs low on large trades.
If you have children, open a Consorsbank JuniorDepot strictly to harvest their independent tax allowances legally. Use the direct bank where the tax code rewards family accounts, and use the discount broker to power your personal compounding machine. Go get paid.