Sparkasse Leverkusen: No bad loans because of Corona

The first Corona year left its mark not only on customers and the 521 employees of the Sparkasse, but also on the balance sheet of by far the largest bank in Leverkusen. The net profit fell by 400,000 euros to 2.4 million euros – among other things because the savings bank has to protect itself more against credit risks. However, this provision only had to be expanded “very slightly”, said Markus Grawe on Thursday, who will take over as CEO from Monday. Rainer Schwarz, who was leaving due to a serious illness, had already left the field to the new management duo with Grawe and Saskia Lagemann.

Of course, according to Grawe, the corona pandemic had an impact on business in all areas. But the economic consequences are still manageable, “we haven’t had any loan defaults yet”. This is also due to the fact that the Sparkasse, as a financier of medium-sized companies in the crisis, was acting according to the motto: “Anyone who had a viable business model before Corona will also have it afterwards. We accompany them through the crisis. “

Not just aid packages

The volume of the Corona aid loans was just under 30 million euros; The savings bank not only passed on money from the federal and state programs, but also its own. However, a look at the entire business with new loans shows that the emergency aid has not overshadowed everything: In total, the Sparkasse gave 148 million euros to companies, which is around 50 million less than in 2019.

Real estate financing was once again significantly more important: new loans in this area totaled 390 million euros. That is also a good 50 million less than last year. Nevertheless, the board of directors is quite satisfied with the lending business. The total volume grew by almost seven percent to now 3.26 billion euros, with companies having a greater share in the growth.

The real estate boom and the resulting mortgage loans could stimulate the banking business even more – if there were enough properties. Given the scarcity, 73 self-mediated objects are still a pretty good value. Last year it was only one more.

Sustainable funds are in demand

Anyone who does not buy a property in the era without interest has to look at the securities. This trend can also be seen in the Sparkasse’s 2020 balance sheet. Sales in this segment have increased further, namely by twelve to 415 million euros. In 2018, the Sparkasse moved here 372 million euros.

How the money is invested is also becoming increasingly important, Grawe said on request. Sustainable investment funds are “a real issue”, even if it is very complex. The Sparkasse and its fund company Deka viewed the issue not only from an ecological perspective, but also from a social perspective. That makes it easier to offer a sustainable alternative to any conventional investment fund.

Markus Grawe and Saskia Lagemann rate the earnings situation as “satisfactory, not good”. The net interest income decreased by 1.3 to 56.5 million euros – the pressure is simply too high near the zero line. In return, net commission income was increased by almost nine percent to 22 million euros and administrative expenses were reduced by 900,000 to 53.5 million.

However, this was not due to the massive expansion of home work caused by the corona. The pandemic still had a major impact on bankers’ lives.

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