Two-thirds of the state aid of 300 million euros for de Volksbank has already been repaid, the remaining 100 million euros will be transferred earlier than planned this year. The renovation has been completed.
The Volksbanken Group has had a few rough years: nine of the 60 independent banks and all foreign subsidiaries were sold. “We have saved 20 percent of the costs, which is 100 million euros,” says Gerald Fleischmann, head of Volksbank Wien. As the largest institute (approximately half of the group’s total assets of €32 billion), it fulfills central functions for the entire sector.
That is why the federal government is also involved with 25 percent in Vienna, which gave de Volksbanken a financial injection of 300 million euros in 2018. Two-thirds of this has already been repaid. The remaining 100 million will now be repaid early this year. Fleischmann: “It will become official with the half-yearly balance sheet, but the Ministry of Finance and the ECB have already been informed.”
Record profit last year
It is made possible by the record profit of 220 million euros from the previous year. After that, the state participation is again in the hands of the cooperatives, which are the owners of de Volksbanken (similar to that of Raiffeisen). “This is a signal that the restructuring is complete and that we can grow again.” For the first time, a dividend was paid to the cooperatives (10 million euros), which is invested in the region. Fleischmann: “That’s where we differ from the large equity banks.”
An average of eight employees work in the 240 locations and there are no plans to phase them out. “We see ourselves as an advisory bank. Our customers are mainly home builders and small and medium-sized companies, mainly in rural areas,” he describes the strategic concept. De Volksbanken’s credit risk is extremely low, also because certain riskier transactions (such as consumer loans) have been terminated or outsourced. According to Fleischmann, I have you don’t need a strategic partner with a return of six to eight percent “We want to remain independent.”
Source: Krone
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