Frankfurt. The Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken are increasing the pressure in the competition for securities customers. From October there will be a cheaper depot in the banking app. ETF, stock and crypto trading is also planned. This emerges from a letter to the boards of directors of more than 600 German cooperative banks, which is available to Handelsblatt.
The step was decided at the end of last week by the BVR association council. The 50-member decision-making committee of the BVR industry association spoke out in favor of further developing the âMein Depot neoâ depot model as soon as possible. This includes âcompetitive pricesâ.
The BVR did not want to comment on this. The letter comes from the leading cooperative institute DZ Bank and the fund company Union Investment. Corresponding considerations have been known for several months - but now the decision has been made.
The expansion of the securities business is a reaction of the cooperative banks to increasing competition from neobrokers such as Trade Republic and Scalable as well as neobanks such as Revolut. Online banks are also increasingly focusing on securities business. âThe cooperative financial group is losing relevance here,â says the letter to the bank board members.
The savings banks have already improved their offering and expanded their app in the summer to include simple ETF and stock trading. In their âS-No offerâ they usually charge 95 cents or one euro per transaction. Account management and execution of savings plans are generally free of charge.
The neobrokers charge similar prices. According to insiders, fees of between 90 cents and one euro per transaction are also being discussed at the cooperative banks.
Despite the high number of private customers, savings banks and Volksbanks - together they have more than 60 million current accounts - have lost significant market share in the securities business. At the Volksbanks, the market share, measured in terms of the number of deposits, fell from 36 percent to just under 20 percent from 2004 to the end of 2024, as Bundesbank figures show. During the same period, private banks grew significantly, driven by online banks and especially neobrokers.
The BVR Association Council also voted to develop a separate securities app for young new customers with the âGrowthâ project by the end of 2027. For this purpose, a ânew, independent brandâ should be created, as the board letter states. The legal entity is to be formed by Genobroker, a subsidiary of the leading cooperative institute DZ Bank.
According to Handelsblatt information, this step was controversial among the Volks- and Raiffeisenbanks. There were fears that deposits could flow out, that existing customers could switch to the new app and that the product could promote âcentralization tendenciesâ towards DZ Bank.
The cooperative financial group is organized decentrally, which is the core of its self-image. The Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken, Sparda-Banken, PSD banks and special cooperative institutions are legally independent financial institutions. Together they are the owners of DZ Bank as well as Union Investment, Bausparkasse SchwÀbisch Hall and R+V-Versicherung, among others. The Volks- and Raiffeisenbanks in turn sell their products to their customers.
In view of the concerns, the expansion project should follow certain rules. The aim is for customers of the new app to ultimately be forwarded to the Volks- and Raiffeisenbanks - and this should be measured precisely. âCannibalization in existing business must be avoided,â says the letter to the board of directors. There should be âno gradual expansionâ towards a direct bank through growth.
Any significant product expansion or strategic change requires a new resolution from the BVR Association Council. The committee also wants to decide again before the start of growth.
According to the letter, the goal is for the new app to gain around 400,000 customers by 2030. It should therefore not reach the break-even point until 2034 at the earliest. DZ Bank should cover the investments.
