Last month the German state-owned bank Portigon AG of North Rhine-Westphalia, the rebranded successor of the WestLB which folded in 2012 during the financial crisis, decided to deaccession its entire art collection. The bank holds approximately 400-pieces of art, which includes works by Pablo Picasso, August Macke, Joseph Beuys, and Günther Uecker.

Now officials in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia are preparing a plan to save the collection of the state-owned bank, Rheinische Post reported.