Germany’s biggest mutual bank is in the closing stages of raising €900m ($1.3bn) of capital as it seeks to become one of the few institutions in the country to recover from the financial crisis without government help.

DZ Bank is next month set to raise up to €400m from a rights issue backed by most of its owners – mainly Germany’s 1,200 or so smaller local co-operative banks. The mutual sector also provided DZ with €500m of capital in the first half of the year.