Bavaria’s savings banks have had a good year. This sets them apart from many of their customers who asked for fewer construction loans. Will conditions get better for them soon?
The banks were doing well, but many of their customers were worried about inflation, interest rates and the economic situation. That is, in one sentence, the annual balance sheet of the 60 Bavarian savings banks. Its new president Matthias Dießl and his deputy Stefan Proßer presented the most important figures and trends on Wednesday.
The bare facts: The balance sheet total was 254.9 billion euros, which is one percent less than in the previous year. On the other hand, there were growth rates in net interest income of 4.5 billion euros (plus 33 percent) and commissions, which rose by 1.9 percent to 1.64 billion. Savings Bank Association President Dießl spoke of a “good financial year with robust development”. In total, Bavaria’s savings banks have more than 33,000 employees in over 2,300 branches. Their number has fallen slightly again.
The trends: There are “alarm signs” here, as Vice Proßer said. The lending business in 2023 was one of the weakest in the past 15 years. The high interest rates made house builders less interested in owning their own home and made business people and entrepreneurs hesitate to invest. Loan commitments to entrepreneurs and the self-employed fell by almost a third, and housing financing fell by more than 40 percent. Almost one in three housing loans that the savings banks had already promised were not taken up. In the first two months of this year, the construction financing business recovered somewhat. In view of the rise in interest rates, savers returned to longer-term investments, and securities and shares became more popular. Overall, deposits fell slightly after rising massively in the Corona years. The return of interest also improved the savings banks’ results. For the current year, the association expects the European Central Bank to lower its key interest rate. The savings bank’s business would remain stable, said Dießl. However, in all likelihood the results of the previous year will no longer be achieved. In view of the economic situation, the savings banks have massively increased their provisions for loan defaults and are thus following a recommendation from the Bundesbank.
Mergers can still occur between Bavarian savings banks.
Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand, dpa
Mergers: They will continue to exist as they arise, says the association president. A bank marriage is particularly useful where two savings banks operate in the same economic area. Two are scheduled to take place this year. Firstly, there is the merger of the Sparkasse Schwaben-Bodensee with the Sparkasse Günzburg-Krumbach. This creates Bavaria’s fourth largest savings bank with around 1,400 employees. The merger between the savings banks in Aschaffenburg and Miltenberg has also already been decided. The new bank will have around 1,100 employees. A merger between the savings banks in Ingolstadt and Kelheim is also in the initiation phase. Seven of the current 60 savings banks in the Free State have more than 1,000 employees, and now at least two more of this size will be added this year.
More women at the top: More than 60 percent of Sparkasse employees are women. But men usually have the say. Only eight percent of board members are women. “There is still a lot of room for improvement,” admits Sparkasse President Dießl. The aim is to have at least one woman deputy on the board of every savings bank by 2030. But the association cannot decide that. This is the responsibility of the respective administrative boards. Through special support programs for women, the association will ensure a larger pool of female applicants, said Dießl.
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2024-03-13 17:06:47
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