Schwerte. Volksbank Schwerte, which belongs to the Dortmund Volksbank, draws a positive conclusion for the 2020 financial year. Branch manager Lars Kessebrock was able to announce record growth rates in business volume, customer deposits and loans at the presentation of the figures.
The business volume of Volksbank Schwerte grew by 56.4 million euros in the 2020 financial year. This corresponds to a growth of 8.1 percent. The customer deposits rose by 50 million euros – that is, by 12 percent. There was growth in customer loans of 16.4 million euros or 2.1 percent. A total of around 42.6 million euros in new loans were granted in the domestic market area.
Kessebrock was particularly pleased that around 500 new customers chose Volksbank Schwerte. Kessebrock also had positive numbers to report with the members. Because Volksbank Schwerte gained 290 new members in the 2020 financial year. The commitment of the Volksbank in the region has remained the same. “In Schwerte, we supported institutions from the fields of art, culture, science and sport in 2020 with a total of 30,000 euros,” explained Kessebrock.
Total assets, customer deposits and negative interest
At the same time as the presentation of the figures in the individual branches, Martin Eul, CEO of Dortmunder Volksbank, gave an overview of the 2020 financial year for the bank as a whole. Compared to the 2019 financial year, the total assets of the Dortmund Volksbank increased by around 600 million euros. This corresponds to an increase of around 7.3 percent. “We have made a giant leap here and at the same time set a record for the Dortmund Volksbank. With around 8.75 billion euros, we are now in fourth place among all Volksbanks in Germany. Currently only Berlin, Frankfurt and Central Hesse are ahead of us. In North Rhine-Westphalia we are the undisputed number one – by a large margin ahead of Paderborn ”, explained Eul.
In the same period, customer deposits also grew by a record amount of 468 million euros or around 7.25 percent. “What would have led to a storm of enthusiasm ten years ago, however, is now causing us considerable worry lines on our foreheads. Of our 7 billion euro customer deposits, around 60 percent are in the current accounts of our business and private customers. It is hardly possible to work with these insoles because they can be used daily. On the contrary: We pay 0.5 percent negative interest at the Bundesbank for this, and that costs us a lot of money, ”reported the CEO. “That is why we unfortunately have to deal very seriously with introducing negative interest rates for private money as well. We know that there is no beauty prize to be won for this, but we see no other way to stop this real flood of deposits ”, Eul continues. Regarding the earnings situation, the Dortmund native said that despite all the adversities, the picture was still stable.
Growth in credit
There was also – and once again – record growth in customer loans. They grew by 459 million euros (an increase of around 7.8 percent). “We were able to prove once more how closely we are connected to our domestic economy. To achieve this growth, 1.4 billion euros in new loans had to be moved because we have to fight a huge redemption roller year after year. The total loan volume is now over 6.3 billion euros. We extended corona-related KfW loans for companies in our region with 80 million euros for around 250 companies, ”calculated Eul.
Mergers, branch architecture and workforce
In 2020, the Dortmunder Volksbank did not change the number of branches in Dortmund’s urban area. “From our point of view, we are still represented with 42 positions across our entire business area. However, we believe that the ‘branch map’ will change drastically in the future due to the significantly changed customer behavior ”, Eul looked into the future.
An important milestone in the 2020 financial year was the merger with Volksbank eG, Waltrop, which was successfully completed. “At the same time, the merger with Volksbank Kamen-Werne is in the starting blocks,” explained Eul.
As with the branches, the number of employees remains roughly constant. It changes slightly from 1,134 in 2019 to currently 1,129 people. In the course of the merger with Volksbank eG, Waltrop, the bank issued a five-year employment guarantee. “This is very unusual nowadays, but it ensures calm and security in the workforce,” said Eul, explaining the reasons.
Members and engagement
Regarding the bank’s dividend, the chairman of the board said: “We will propose a dividend of two percent to our members in view of the permanent zero interest rate. To this end, we have also increased the quota of shares that can be acquired from five to 50 per member. That corresponds to 8,000 euros. This is to give our members the opportunity to participate more than usual in the bank’s success. “
Finally, he referred to the role of the Dortmunder Volksbank as a promoter and sponsor in the region. “As every year, we sponsored numerous institutions from the fields of art, culture, science and sport with an investment of around 1.1 million euros. It is precisely these institutions that have significant problems to keep their operations running during the current pandemic. Every euro is well invested. “
