Volksbank assets triple

The balance of loans granted by December 2007 was worth €2.2 bln, some €200 mln more than expected, and the bank is aiming for a 2008 balance of loans of over €3 bln.

The President of the lender, Gerald Schreiner, declared exclusively for Business Standard that Volksbank Romania’s business will exceed that of the banking market in 2008, with a target for assets at €5.2 bln. “In 2008, Volksbank Romania is proposing to obtain a profit before taxes of €36 million, a market share of at least 5 percent, and total assets worth some €5 million,” said the German banker for Business Standard.

Schreiner added that in the coming months Volksbank in planning to launch local private banking and several new services for the local market.

The head of Volksbank admitted that one of the problems faced by the bank is a lack of qualified personnel, and that a priority for the bank is an investment in training of staff.

Volksbank intends to expand its network of branches to some 200 units in 2008, from a current 135, and more than double the number of franchises from 90 units at the end of 2007.

The German bank had a 5.06 percent market share in 2007, based on assets, up from 2.7 percent in 2006, and is hoping to reach 5.8 percent this year. Its market share on the real estate loan segment for the financing of home acquisition was 10.57 percent at the end of last year.