Savings banks in Hesse and Thuringia expect a better annual balance in 2026

After a solid first half of the year, the savings banks in Hesse and Thuringia are on track for a better annual balance. “In terms of earnings development, we expect a somewhat more dynamic development for the full year 2026 than originally expected,” explained the managing president of the Hesse-Thuringia Savings Banks and Giro Association, Stefan G. Reuß.

“Thanks to strong net interest income, the operating result for the year will probably be above the previous year’s level,” predicted Reuss. An operating profit of around 1.8 billion euros is expected for the 46 savings banks in the two federal states. That would be a good five percent more than in 2025.

According to the forecast, net interest income, the most important source of income for public institutions, is expected to increase by 8.2 percent to almost 3.2 billion euros. Financial institutions make money by collecting more money for loans than they pay their customers in savings interest. The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised key interest rates in the euro area, and a further increase is expected. As a rule, loan interest rates rise faster than savings interest rates.

Bitcoin in the Sparkasse app from October

While the credit volume of the savings banks increased by almost one percent to a good 96.7 billion euros in the first half of the year, customer deposits fell slightly to 126.7 billion euros. The association also attributes this to the growing interest in securities.

For a few weeks now, the institutes have been using “S-Neo” to enable trading in securities such as ETFs (exchange-traded index funds) directly in the savings bank app. “From October onwards, the app will also be able to store and trade cryptocurrencies for self-deciders,” announced Reuß. Customers then have access to Bitcoin and Ether via the Sparkasse app.