Münster (dpa / lnw) – The pandemic is also leaving its mark on the Landesbausparkasse West business. The new home loan and savings business in 2020 fell by 16 percent to around 6 billion euros compared to the previous year, LBS West announced on Tuesday in Münster. The financial institution justified the development with the fact that customer centers and savings bank branches were temporarily closed due to Corona. The development was similar for other health insurers.
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Bauspar contracts are divided into two phases: The savers regularly pay in money in order to be entitled to a low-interest loan after a few years – this gives them planning security, for example for buying an apartment. However, thanks to the European Central Bank’s zero interest rate policy, cheap loans have long since ceased to be something special; they have almost become a matter of course – this is putting pressure on the home loan and savings industry.
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When selling their product, the health insurers rely on the argument that their customers will still get a cheap loan in six to ten years – when a building society loan agreement concluded today is due and the loan is available within its framework. In order to have this very cheap loan secure, many savers still opt for a home loan and savings contract.
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A major growth driver for the industry is the trend towards owning a home. This can also be seen from the figures from LBS West. Financing from LBS funds – that is, money from customer savings deposits – rose by 14.6 percent to 558 million euros. That means: Much more customers than before are using their right to call up the building society loan in order to invest in their own four walls. “During Corona, everyone experienced first hand that it doesn’t matter how you live,” says LBS West boss Jörg Münning.
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The profit (annual surplus) was according to the information at 10 million euros and thus at the previous year’s level – which LBS West rates positively with a view to the “demanding framework conditions caused by Corona and the low interest rate policy of the central banks”. Münning intends to continue the digitization course it has embarked on; most recently, for example, the functions of the digital advice center were expanded.
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210223-99-552047 / 3
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