It is one of those pieces of news that reliably raises the pulse of parts of the German population. The companies in the stock index Dax want to put together this year pay a record dividend. The country’s most important stock exchange companies plan to distribute more than 55 billion euros to their shareholders. That’s more than ever before – but there’s no reason to get excited.

The league of generous companies is led by the insurance company Allianz, which grants its investors a whopping nine percent more than in the previous year. It ranks behind it Deutsche Telekom with a similarly high increase. It continues with the banks and technology companies. There really isn’t much left to be gained in the car industry. But the majority of the 40 DAX companies go one step further.