BBy mid-2023 it should be possible to purchase shares in a Volksbank or Raiffeisenbank online and thus become a member of this bank cooperative. “The acquisition of new members has a high priority,” said Andreas Martin, board member of the Federal Association of Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken (BVR). In 2022, the 737 German cooperative banks succeeded in gaining 270,000 new members. However, since around 500,000 old members have died or left, the number of members has fallen below 18 million for the first time since 2013.
By making it possible to purchase cooperative shares and complete membership via online banking or the VR Banking App, ownership is intended to be rejuvenated and the “demographic-related” decline in membership numbers counteracted. The cooperative banking group has no equity capital problem. Due to the abrupt turnaround in interest rates in 2022, the banks had to write off a hefty 5.8 billion euros on bonds in their own portfolio that had fallen in value. In return, they dissolved previously formed reserves – probably in the amount of 1.9 billion euros, as can be concluded from the business figures presented by the BVR at the annual press conference in Frankfurt on Tuesday. When asked by journalists how many reserves were still available, BVR board member Daniel Quinten assured: “There’s still quite a lot. It’s not like we’ve hit rock bottom.” The equity base also shows that the cooperative banks are in a solid position with a core capital ratio of 15.3 percent. In 2022, after €7.7 billion in the previous year, they reported a profit of €4.4 billion before taxes – exactly €1 billion more than Commerzbank.