Financing your kitchen, television or car: this is what the Santander Consumer Bank in Austria specializes in. It does not offer any housing loans, checking accounts or securities, only consumer loans and vehicle financing.
The former offers partial payments, i.e. installment loans, in cooperation with retailers such as XXXLutz, Hartlauer or Intersport. This is mass business. The aim is always to subsequently grant direct consumer loans to customers for free use. 70 percent is refinanced through online savings deposits, the rest through the group.
The Spanish Santander took over the Austrian business of the US GE Money Bank during the 2009 financial crisis. So this year is the 15th anniversary.
Installment payments don’t always have the best reputation. “Today the installment loan has reached the mainstream of society,” says Olaf Peter Poenisch, CEO. The continuous growth of his bank speaks for this.
Image: Santander
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Image: Santander
In 15 years, the balance sheet total has quadrupled. The loan volume in the first half of the year was 3.47 billion euros (plus eight percent), the deposits were 2.98 billion (plus 18 percent), and the net profit was 24 million (minus five percent). There are 28 branches (four in Upper Austria) and 500 employees. The business model with installment payments, which drive dealer sales, is unique, says Poenisch. When it comes to vehicle loans, however, the competition is fierce.
Poenisch rejects the prejudice that Santander gives money to people who cannot afford it: “We have a very precise credit check. It is very important that the borrower can afford the loan.” In times of increased interest rates, inflation and recession, non-performing loans have increased slightly, but everything is within limits.
