Munich (dpa / lby) - The Bavarian Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken are expecting a "gratifyingly stable operating result" this year, but less profit than in the previous year. The rise in interest rates reduces interest margins and leads to value adjustments on proprietary investments, said the President of the Bavarian Cooperative Association (GVB), Gregor Scheller, on Wednesday in Munich. The demand for construction loans weakened significantly.
In the first half of the year, the lending business increased by 4.4 percent to 132.5 billion euros. Real estate loans were a key growth driver. But rising costs, a lack of material and rising interest rates put many construction projects to the test, said Scheller. The real estate lending business is declining significantly. In the commercial sector, on the other hand, lending is very positive. He does not see any additional risks or even a wave of bankruptcies.
The interest rate turnaround initiated by the European Central Bank initially put a strain on the cooperative banks because of long-term fixed interest rates on loans and price losses for securities. So far, they have been able to compensate for declining interest margins through savings. But the value adjustments in the books weigh on the profit.
Customer deposits grew in the first half of the year by just 0.8 percent to EUR 152.7 billion. The municipalities put a billion more on the high edge, but private customers hardly put any money in their savings accounts after the corona restrictions were lifted and because of the high inflation. Corporate customers even withdrew money for current business and investments, their deposits fell.
The commission income of the cooperative banks is slightly declining, said Scheller. Customer investments in securities and custody accounts have shrunk by 5.7 percent since the beginning of the year due to the decline in prices on the capital markets. But many investors are obviously willing to hold out when prices fall.
Despite the economic risks, the credit cooperatives are optimistic, emphasized Scheller. As in the previous year, the operating result for the year should reach around 1.6 billion euros. The book loss on the securities should lead to an extraordinary book profit in two or three years. The GVB includes 208 Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks in Bavaria.
