Those responsible at Sparkasse Mainfranken in Würzburg are satisfied with the past year, despite a few negative developments. Branch closures are currently not planned, but cannot be ruled out either, it said at the annual press conference on Monday. In the next five years, the number of employees is to be further reduced.
Compared to 2020, Sparkasse Mainfranken increased its total assets by almost nine percent in 2021 to around 10.7 billion euros. This is mainly due to the fact that the lending business and financial assets have increased.
Last year, the financial institution issued new loans worth over 1.5 billion euros – more than ever before in its almost 200-year history. That’s a credit growth of 8.6 percent over the previous year.
According to board member Jens Rauch, medium-sized companies are responsible for the high demand for credit. He is currently investing more than large companies. Loans for business start-ups and business takeovers have also increased by two million euros. Sparkasse Mainfranken is the largest of its kind in Lower Franconia.
Sparkasse is feeling the effects of a higher savings rate
The financial assets of the Würzburgers, like the balance sheet total, have increased by around nine percent. It is now around 12.9 billion euros. The reasons for this are higher customer deposits, especially from private individuals.
According to CEO Bernd Fröhlich, this is due to the high savings rate nationwide. In addition, the portfolio of securities at the savings bank increased by 20 percent to around 3.1 billion euros.
The financial institution’s net interest income is slightly below the previous year’s level, while its net commission income is slightly higher. The net income should also be slightly higher than in 2020. However, it is still unclear by how much. Sparkasse Mainfranken will only disclose the exact figures in March, when all checks have been completed.
What the savings bank wants to do with its surplus
But it is already clear what will happen to the surplus. “The profit should be fully allocated to equity,” says Fröhlich. This is the only way the savings bank can increase its equity. “And that is important in order to remain competitive in the future and to fulfill our public mandate.”
The bank is now carrying out this order with 106 fewer employees than in 2020. The current number of 1467 employees is to be reduced by a further 100 to 150 jobs over the next five years.
Branch closures, job cuts: what Sparkasse Mainfranken is planning
“We will be able to manage with fewer employees through process optimization,” said Fröhlich on Monday. According to him, new staff should be hired in certain areas. However, the bottom line would be that more jobs would be lost due to natural fluctuation and retirements.
When asked about possible further branch closures, the CEO said that nothing concrete was currently planned. Nevertheless, the savings bank is constantly checking whether the 37 advice centers and 28 branches are still necessary. In 2020, the money house announced that it would close about a third of its branch offices within a few months.
“Ultimately, the customer determines with his demand how many branches we operate,” added Fröhlich. In addition to the 65 staffed branches, there are 21 self-service locations in the city of Würzburg and the districts of Würzburg, Kitzingen and Main-Spessart.
Statistically, every second resident in the business area of Sparkasse Mainfranken is a customer of the financial institution. Despite this, the number of customer accounts and custody accounts fell by 6,200 last year.
Fröhlich explains this on the one hand with unused savings accounts that are closed after 30 years. On the other hand, the cancellations and dissolutions of many premium savings accounts are behind it.
For the current year, the Sparkasse Mainfranken is anticipating a decline in the overall result. Those responsible see the main reasons for this in higher material costs and lower reserves for the lending business. They assume that these cannot be offset by the expected increase in loans, slightly higher net interest and commission income and lower personnel costs.
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