The VKB has presented the 150th annual report in its history; for a year now the logo has no longer been blue but green. Profit (EGT) doubled from 18 to 36.7 million euros in 2023, a record. On the one hand, this is due to the increased interest rates, but also to the changes in the business model and the growth of the regional bank, as General Director Markus Auer explains.
The VKB has withdrawn from business with large companies. “We are a medium-sized bank ourselves and do business with small and medium-sized businesses,” says Auer. You want to be the house bank for companies and know your customers well. This was not the case with corporations.
Customer deposits (current accounts, savings books) rose by 8.9 percent to three billion euros for the first time. Board director Alexander Seiler emphasizes that 94 percent of savings deposits (1.7 billion euros) are tied to interest rate indicators. On average, you get 2.5 percent interest on money due daily at VKB.
The loan volume increased by 1.4 percent to 2.7 billion euros, thanks to growth in the corporate customer sector. In private residential construction, the decline was around 25 percent lower than in the market, says board director Maria Steiner.
The loan loss provisions were almost quadrupled from around three to 11.7 million euros. Given the economic development, “we are wrapping up warmly,” says Seiler.
The number of VKB cooperative members has fallen from around 30,000 to 16,400. But that has to do with an overdue cleanup, as Auer explains. For decades, former customers had been cooperative members with very small shares. However, you can only be a cooperative member if you also have a business relationship with the VKB.
When it comes to cooperative capital, VKB has actually increased significantly. It has grown from eight to 16 million euros in the past two years (the shares were increased from 1.5 to two million) and thus strengthens the core capital ratio, which is 16.6 percent (after 15.9 percent in the previous year).
The net profit for 2023 of 29.9 million euros will also flow entirely into equity, says Auer. A dividend of 1.16 million euros for the owners comes from the cooperative’s reserves.
The number of branches increased by one location to 31, and the number of employees increased by 35 to 612. In Wels, VKB will complete its largest construction project to date in the summer; around 20 million euros flowed into the converted branch, 52 apartments and 15 offices.
Author
Alexander Zens
Economics editor
Alexander Zens
