First, the German Bank, now Commerzbank: With the deletion of thousands of the money houses push ahead with its massive reconstruction. But also in the case of the savings banks, busy, busy, busy.
For years, the German banks are finding it difficult. They complain about the low interest rates, high demands of regulators and the challenges posed by digitisation. How bad is the industry ordered, the views of the two largest private banks, Deutsche and Commerzbank. Had to merge started in their time of Need a attempt to. This is not managed, therefore, the two money houses need to find other ways to ensure their Survival.
This is all about costs and, hence, make removal. As long as the German money houses had hoped that the period of low interest rates will soon end. Since then, however, the ECB had eased a few weeks ago its monetary policy again and the for a longer time, you need to reorient themselves and adapt their business model. The pressure is even greater due to the slowdown in the economy, because the research is expected to lead in the foreseeable future to more credit defaults, and in any case to a higher risk provisions.
String concert in Jobs and branches
In the case of the German Bank of 18,000 Jobs will have to disappear by the end of 2022, of which probably about half of them in Germany. At Commerzbank, the Board had announced the removal of 4300 Jobs, but elsewhere also again in 2000, jobs will arise. The “Handelsblatt” according to the 250 of the 1000’s Commerzbank are expected to close branches, but at the same time on “interesting locations” 50 branches to re-open. Because in times of mobile Banking, it is simply too expensive, a large branch network to provide. The co-operative DZ Bank is planning a reduction of 400 Jobs, equivalent to ten percent of their Bodies.
Should come together, not worked but: Deutsche and Commerzbank
What is clear is that The competition in the industry is high, the fusion pressure also. “We need the courage to be consolidation,” said Deutsche Bank chief Christian Sewing a few weeks ago. The market adjustment has come in the past few years, to 2018, the number of credit institutions fell by 2.9 percent, which was slightly slower than a year earlier. A study by Barkow Consulting shows. But the private banks don’t trust yourself not really – at least in the last year, it merged, especially Volks – and Raiffeisen banks – as the number of institutions fell by 4.6 per cent, in the savings Bank sector at the end of last year, 1.3 percent less.
Costs will be passed on to customers
But still, Germany is “overbanked”, so there are still too many banks. 1783 institutions, the Deutsche Bundesbank was one of the end of 2018. Still too many, experts say, because that leads to a price competition, the will not survive many banks. Because most of them fall on the private customer business, and because of the competition due to the many savings banks and cooperative banks is the highest. Now signs, however, that the banks will start to counteract to make removal as in the case of large private banks. On the other, they roll increases the burden of the Low and negative interest rates to the customers. So the current account is only a few houses for free, more and more frequently, negative interest rates for high deposits – most of the more than 100,000 Euro are passed – on to investors, 4000 1300 banks and savings banks, as the Internet portal Biallo has identified this year have increased the fees for private accounts. And some Bank, like the Stadtsparkasse Munich, announces the savings accounts of existing customers, in this case is equal to times of 28,000 contracts.
Add to that the competition of the large and small Fintech companies: choose from the value-added chain of banks a member, Wirecard, about the processing of payment services. In such areas, you make the established banks, then competition, because they can’t be as fast as innovative – you can only work with the new competitors. The profits do not increase but.
You may need to change something in order to be long-term viability of the savings banks will look at this. A year ago Sberbank President Helmut Schleweis had proposed the formation of a “super-land Bank”. The savings Bank sector makes finally five country banks, eight building societies and eleven insurers. Now, the beginning seems to be made. For now, Helaba and Dekabank to form a large Bank that can then be followed by other institutions. The synergy effects could be with this two Alliance big. This should then be convinced at some point the other banks, – the baden-württemberg LBBW and BayernLB had shown previously skeptical, because they want to maintain their independence. This is a luxury but you will not be able to afford will soon be more.