Aareal Bank – 100 years serving the property industry

Wiesbaden, 19 July 2023 – Tomorrow, on 20 July 2023, Aareal Bank celebrates its 100th anniversary. The institution can look back on an eventful history, which is closely linked to the development of the German housing industry as well as the financing of publicly funded housing. Three decades ago, the business was further expanded to include international commercial property financing, which has since continued to grow steadily.

Jochen Klösges, Chief Executive Officer, said: "I would like to thank all of our clients and partners for placing their trust in us over the last 100 years. During this time, we have successfully overcome many challenges together. In the future as well, we will remain a reliable partner to the property industry and continue to expand our offering for our clients."

Our origins – a response to housing shortages and a new beginning after World War II

Aareal Bank was founded on 20 July 1923, as Deutsche WohnstättenBank AG, to provide urgently needed loan funds to the building and housing industry. In subsequent years the institution successfully participated in financing over one million publicly funded homes.

After the Second World War, Aareal Bank played a crucial role in the reconstruction and public promotion of the housing market. Using innovative financing tools such as interim financing for home loans and savings contracts, the company contributed to the success of Germany's economic miracle.

Targeted business expansion – growth and innovation

To enable it to work more efficiently and cost-effectively, Aareal Bank ventured into electronic data processing as early as 1957. At that time, offering companies in the housing industry a central external data processing service was a pioneering step and lay the foundations for the Banking & Digital Solutions segment as well as for the subsidiary Aareon AG, today a leading supplier of SaaS solutions for the European property industry.

A risk-conscious attitude pays off

Over the years, Aareal Bank has significantly expanded its international presence in commercial property financing business and now operates in more than 20 countries. Despite this expansion, the company pursues a risk-conscious and forward-looking business policy. This strategy especially paid off during the 2007/2008 financial crisis: even in these years, the Bank remained in the black.

The business policy, which is geared towards the long term, was extended in 2012 to include environmental and social aspects and set out in the form of a sustainability strategy. Aareal Bank Group also signed up to the United Nations Global Compact in the same year.

Aareal Bank 2023: sustained profitable growth to continue under new ownership

Today, Aareal Bank Group is an international specialist for property financing, the lead bank to the German housing industry and Europe's leading software company for the property industry.

Since the beginning of June 2023, Aareal Bank has had a new ownership structure, following the closing of Atlantic BidCo’s voluntary public takeover offer. With the support of the new investors, the intention is to pursue the Bank's sustainably successful strategy.

History of Aareal Bank AG:

Further information covering Aareal Bank’s history can be found under .

 
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About Aareal Bank Group – 100 years of Aareal Bank. 100 years of writing success stories.

Aareal Bank Group, headquartered in Wiesbaden, was founded 100 years ago and has since become a leading international property specialist. The Bank uses its expertise to identify trends, challenges and opportunities at an early stage, and to exploit them for the benefit of its stakeholders. Today, it offers smart financing, software products and digital solutions for the property sector and related industries, and is present across three continents: Europe, North America and Asia/Pacific. Aareal Bank Group’s business strategy focuses on sustainable business success, with environmental, social and governance aspects as an integral part of this strategy.

Aareal Bank AG comprises the business segments Structured Property Financing, Banking & Digital Solutions and Aareon. The Structured Property Financing segment encompasses all of Aareal Bank Group’s property financing and funding activities. Here, the Bank supports its clients in making large-volume commercial property investments. The investment properties mostly comprise office buildings, hotels, shopping centres, logistics and residential property, as well as student housing. In the Banking & Digital Solutions segment, Aareal Bank Group supports businesses from the housing, property management and energy industries as a digitalisation partner – combining extensive advisory services and product solutions with traditional corporate banking services and deposit-taking. Its subsidiary Aareon, the leading supplier of SaaS solutions for the European property sector, represents the third business segment. It is digitalising property management by offering user-oriented software solutions that simplify and automate processes, support sustainable and energy-efficient operations, and interconnect all process participants.