LBBW Reports Strong Half-Year Results, Exceeding Previous Year’s Figures
Stuttgart, Germany – LBBW, a leading universal bank in Germany, has announced its half-year results for 2025, showcasing a strong performance despite a challenging economic landscape. The bank’s operating profit before taxes, adjusted for integration costs from Berlin Hyp, rose to €759 million, a 4% increase from the previous year’s figure of €731 million. Including integration effects, the pre-tax profit for the first half of 2025 was €705 million, only slightly below the previous year’s figure.
CEO Rainer Neske stated, “The half-year result shows that LBBW is strategically well positioned, high-performing and resilient. We understand our customers’ needs and have the financial strength to stand by them as a partner even in difficult times.” He also highlighted the successful integration of Berlin Hyp, acquired in summer 2022, which has further strengthened LBBW’s market position and created the leading competence center for commercial real estate.
The bank’s income increased by 3% to €2.12 billion, driven by a strong core operating business. Notably, net fee and commission income increased by 9%, boosted by strong securities and custody business as well as higher earnings from structuring larger financings. However, expenses also rose by 4% to €1.31 billion, including €54 million in integration effects from Berlin Hyp. Excluding these, expenses amounted to €1.26 billion, mainly due to investments in IT development, collective bargaining and salary effects, and capacity expansion in growth areas.
Despite the challenging economic environment, all four operating segments of LBBW increased their income and achieved a pre-tax profit at or above the previous year’s level. The Corporate Customers segment, which serves small and medium-sized enterprises, saw a 15% increase in income, while the Real Estate/Project Finance segment improved its profit by 4% despite ongoing challenges in real estate markets.
The bank’s risk position remained stable, with allowances for losses on loans and securities slightly below the previous year’s figure at €107 million. The non-performing exposure (NPE) ratio also remained low at 0.6%, reflecting the consistently high quality of the bank’s portfolio. LBBW also maintained a strong buffer of additional allowances in the form of model adjustments totaling €880 million.
The bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio under CRR III stood at a very comfortable 16.6%, mainly due to a reduction in risk-weighted assets following methodological changes from the transition from CRR II to CRR III.
Looking ahead, CEO Rainer Neske reaffirmed the bank’s pre-tax earnings target of over €1 billion for the full year. He also emphasized the bank’s preparedness to support companies in restoring Germany as a strong business location, stating, “Thanks to our balanced business model, our robust balance sheet, and our long-term partnerships, we are ideally positioned to achieve this.”
About LBBW
LBBW is a mittelstand-minded universal bank and a central institution for the savings banks in Baden-Württemberg, Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate. With total assets of €356 billion and around 10,800 employees, LBBW is one of the largest banks in Germany. Its core activities include business with corporate customers, especially SMEs, and business with private customers and savings banks. It also focuses on real estate and project finance in selected markets and customer-oriented capital markets business with banks, savings banks, and institutional investors. To this end, LBBW is represented at 16 locations in 15 countries around the world.
Contact
LBBW
Angela Brötel
Mobile: +49 175 776 08 26
E-mail: Angela.Broetel@LBBW.de
Website: https://www.LBBW.de/en
LBBW
Christian Potthoff
Mobile: +49 151 14 65 90 43
E-mail: Christian.Potthoff@lbbw.de
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.