Study on the German building society sector 2019

German building societies—setting the sails correctly

In their fourth edition of zeb’s 2019 study on the German building society sector, our experts analyze the building society sector, which will continue to be affected by the low interest rate environment and the negative impact on earnings in 2019. The home savings sector therefore continues to face major challenges and must continue to ensure its future viability. Our study shows starting points and differentiated perspectives for this.

In the first chapter, we present the earnings development of the home savings sector in 2018 and prepare earnings forecasts. These make it clear that the measures to increase efficiency through the use of technology described in the second chapter urgently need to be tackled at short notice. A transformation to a sustainable business model through a stronger customer focus and the expansion of activities in the real estate ecosystem will be presented in the third chapter.

Even if the economic outlook may not appear very rosy at first glance, it is still too early to give up on building societies. However, the existing operating and business models must be (further) modified. While certainly not conclusive, the study shows approaches to doing so. If they are ready to make the necessary changes, then there is still hope for German building societies.  
 

This publication is only available in German.