However, in 1877 a special finance department was established, which with effect from 14 July 1879 was separated from the chancellery as the Imperial Treasury (Reichsschatzamt), a federal agency in its own right.

[citation needed] After World War I, the newly established Weimar Republic had to face huge reparations and a fiscal emergency.

[citation needed] During the period of Reunification in the 1990s', the Ministry of Finance headed by Theo Waigel, refused to return eight buildings in East Germany belonging to six Austrian Jewish citizens / NS victims.

("Enteignung durch die Hintertur; Der Bund bereichert sich / Winkelzuge deutscher Burocratie schreiben Unrecht fest").

The Ministry's wider portfolio includes public-law agencies and corporations such as the Federal Finance Regulator (BaFin) and Real Estate regulatory bodies.