ProCredit Management Board presents updated business strategy for a broadened ProCredit footprint on its second Capital Markets Day

•    A new era for ProCredit: positioning as an attractive and responsible bank for private individuals to be enhanced to complement the group’s strong footing as a leading MSME bank in South Eastern and Eastern Europe
•    Loan portfolio to grow to more than EUR 10bn in the medium term and achieve important scaling effects
•    Investments in staff, IT, marketing and market presence to accelerate client and balance sheet growth
•    Strong profit growth planned with medium-term RoE outlook raised to ~13%-14%
•    Accelerated efforts to achieve the group’s net-zero commitment through targeted client engagement 

Frankfurt, 25 March 2024 – Last week on Thursday, ProCredit Holding held its second Capital Markets Day for investors and analysts. On the back of a very successful year 2023, the Management Board presented the updated business strategy of the group, which foresees significantly increasing ProCredit’s footprint in its existing markets in South Eastern and Eastern Europe over the next years. As a result, the group aims to achieve important scaling effects, strengthen its margins on both sides of the balance sheet, and amplify the positive impact it has in the region. Managers from the ProCredit banks in Kosovo, Ukraine, and Bosnia & Herzegovina discussed the implications of the updated business strategy in their respective local contexts and described ProCredit’s strong positioning as a green and responsible bank for MSMEs and private clients in South Eastern and Eastern Europe.

“We want to firmly position ourselves as the leading bank for MSMEs in our region and build a strong reputation as an attractive bank for private individuals. By playing on our inherent strengths and strengthening our brand as a universal bank for both MSMEs and private individuals, in the coming years we want to reach a portfolio size of more than EUR 10bn and more than double the number of our clients. On this path we feel comfortable committing ourselves to delivering a return on equity of around 13%-14% in the medium term and believe we can significantly amplify the positive impact of our operations on the societies and economies of the countries in which we are present,” elaborated Hubert Spechtenhauser, chairperson of the management board of ProCredit Holding AG.

High growth ambitions with SMEs plus strong and focused efforts in the retail and micro segments

The Management Board presented its plans to accelerate loan portfolio growth and return to the good growth figures the group achieved in the years before the war in Ukraine, targeting a medium-term loan portfolio of above EUR 10bn. This growth is to be solely self-funded through local deposits from private individuals and MSMEs. In light of the heightened geopolitical tensions for example between Serbia and Kosovo, the Management Board views ProCredit’s mandate in the region and its “Hausbank for MSMEs” concept as more relevant than ever, as the economic and political convergence of Eastern and Western Europe is essential for long-term peace and prosperity on the continent.

To accelerate growth in the MSME segment, the group intends to build on its strong market position, but will also significantly strengthen internal capacities, optimise lending processes, and further broaden the availability of services tailored to MSMEs. Moreover, in some countries of operation, the group plans to open new regional offices to better serve MSMEs also outside the major economic hubs. The Management Board has in particular identified potential for increased growth among smaller SMEs with a funding demand of up to EUR 750,000, which will sustainably fortify the group’s performance indicators through higher margins, lower risk weighting, and stronger customer retention thanks to ProCredit’s “Hausbank” approach. 

In pursuing its ambitious growth strategy, the group plans to further leverage its reputation as a green bank in its markets and accelerate growth in energy efficiency and renewable energy loans to achieve a structural share of green loans of 25% (2023: 20.4%).

The Management Board also highlighted a change in direction with regard to its approach to the retail sector. The updated strategy foresees a substantial broadening of the group’s target client profile and a sharpened service offer to help position ProCredit as a highly attractive bank for private individuals in its markets. In the coming years, the Management Board wants to grow the group’s private individual client base by 150% in order to achieve a more granular deposit structure, with private individual deposits contributing around 50%.

Hubert Spechtenhauser emphasised the potential for responsible banking to private individuals to make a positive impact: “In countries where consumer loans are often marketed very aggressively and where lack of regulation leads to high levels of intransparency in consumer loan offers, we want to position ourselves as a responsible and attractive bank for private individuals to complement our MSME business. To this end, in our countries of operation we want to promote a culture of saving, set prices for financing transparently, and prevent customers from becoming over-indebted, while also helping households structure their finances in a sensible way.”

Concrete action to deliver on net-zero commitment

As a member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, ProCredit is committed to achieving net-zero emissions for its loan and investment portfolios by 2050 or earlier. In this context, the Management Board presented its plans to reduce the group’s absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030 (compared to the 2022 baseline). In view of reducing the group’s Scope 3 emissions, the ProCredit banks plan to engage with the clients responsible for 28% of the group’s portfolio emissions by 2027. This will entail supporting them in measuring emissions, working with them to set ambitious emission targets, and providing them with tailored funding for green investments. 

Scaling effects and margin consolidation to support higher profitability in the medium term 

As a result of the anticipated growth and improved balance sheet structure with more granularity of assets and liabilities, the Management Board sees strong potential for a higher structural profitability level going forward. The medium-term return on equity is expected to increase to a level of around 13%-14% based on a cost of risk level of around 30-35 basis points and a cost-income ratio of around 57% (without one-off effects). In this outlook, the contribution of ProCredit Bank Ukraine on return on equity is largely neutral. The end of the war and subsequent reconstruction effort by the Western community could provide an additional upside potential of around 1.5 percentage points to this guidance for return on equity.

The presentation materials, as well as a recording of the Capital Markets Day 2024 event, are available in the Investor Relations section of the ProCredit Holding website at https://www.procredit-holding.com/investor-relations/capital-markets-day/ 

Contact: 
Andrea Kaufmann, Group Communications, ProCredit Holding, Tel.: +49 69 95 14 37 138, 
E-mail: Andrea.Kaufmann@procredit-group.com 

About ProCredit Holding AG

ProCredit Holding AG, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the parent company of the development-oriented ProCredit group, which consists of commercial banks for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In addition to its operational focus on South Eastern and Eastern Europe, the ProCredit group is also active in South America and Germany. The company’s shares are traded on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The main shareholders of ProCredit Holding AG include the strategic investors Zeitinger Invest GmbH and ProCredit Staff Invest GmbH & Co KG (the investment vehicle for ProCredit staff), KfW, the Dutch DOEN Participaties BV and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As the group’s superordinated company according to the German Banking Act and as the parent financial holding company of the ProCredit financial holding group, ProCredit Holding AG is supervised on a consolidated level by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, BaFin) and the German Bundesbank. For additional information, visit: https://www.procredit-holding.com/ 

Forward-looking statements 

This press release contains statements relating to our future business development and financial performance, as well as statements relating to future actions or developments affecting ProCredit Holding which may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the management of ProCredit Holding’s current expectations and specific assumptions, many of which are beyond the control of ProCredit Holding. They are therefore subject to a multitude of risks, uncertainties and factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialise, or should underlying expectations or assumptions prove incorrect, then the actual results, performance and achievements (both negative and positive) of ProCredit Holding may differ significantly from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statement. Beyond the legal requirements, ProCredit Holding does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to correct them in the event of deviations from the expected development.

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