Deutsche Postbank AG has successfully expanded its business with corporate customers. Speaking to journalists in London, Stefan Jütte, Managing Director for Lending, reported that the Bonn-based bank was performing particularly well in the lending business with German small and medium-sized enterprises. “We are benefiting from the consistent way in which we were available for our customers even when the corporate customer business was not very high up in banks’ priorities,” says Jütte.

By expanding its offering for SMEs and continuously intensifying its provision of personal support, Postbank increased the volume of investment loans to corporate customers by around 130% to EUR 180 million in the year to June 30, 2007. Usage by SMEs of the current account loan went up over the same period by 35% to EUR 177 million, and the volume of syndicated loans rose 11% to EUR 880 million. At the same time, Postbank continues to pursue a restrictive risk policy and since 2002 has reduced its risk provision from 0.53% to 0.26% of the volume of loans granted.

The special “Postbank Mittelstandskredit” promotion (loan to SMEs), which was only launched at the end of July 2007 and which offers a fixed interest rate starting from 5% for up to five years and for loans ranging from EUR 100,000 and EUR 15 million, has met with a positive response from customers. In the first month alone, loan requests amounting to EUR 60 million were received. If the response continues, Postbank will consider extending the promotion.

With 35,000 customers, the corporate customer business generates around one fifth of Postbank’s pre-tax profits. A good third of gross profits come from the Payment Solutions division, and just under two thirds come from the lending business including commercial property financing. Since 2004, Postbank’s corporate customer segment has increased its pre-tax profits by an average of 15% each year. The cost-income ratio improved during the same period from 47.6% to 44.2% in the first six months of 2007, and the return on equity went up from 28.5% to 50.6%.

By focusing on German SMEs, Postbank aims to further build on its business with corporate customers. To this end it has increased its business with providers of promotional loans such as the KfW and NRW.BANK. Furthermore, it has continuously improved its personal support for corporate customers over the past few years by hiring additional customer advice specialists, intensifying the training and development of customer advisors and relieving corporate customer advisors of administrative tasks so that they have more time for providing customer advice. In doing so, the bank has more than doubled the number of customers receiving personal support.

Central product specialists as well as Postbank Leasing GmbH and PB Factoring GmbH are available to assist customers with complex financing issues. Comprehensive investment and balance sheet structure management round off the range of products.