After seven challenging years, the Volksbank cooperatives have consolidated and achieved a record result of 326 million after taxes in 2023. Of this, 11.4 million euros were distributed in dividends to members and the bank’s equity ratio was strengthened, said Peter Haubner, Chairman of the Board of ÖGV, at today’s press conference in Vienna. After the successful restructuring and the complete repayment of state aid, the Volksbanken once again belonged 100 percent to the customers who hold shares as cooperative members.
Many customers and cooperative members have remained loyal to the bank even in difficult times and the number of members is growing again. “There are currently 460,452 Austrians in the 34 Volksbank cooperatives,” said Haubner.
The distributed funds would be invested in the respective region, the Volksbank cooperatives are represented in all federal states of Austria – there are a total of around 260 branches. “The merger phase is now over,” added Monika Cisar-Leibetseder, General Director of Volksbank Steiermark. A project initiative with a grant of 300,000 euros has now been launched, for which the cooperative members can apply. “It’s mainly about sustainability issues,” says Cisar-Leibetseder, and they want to attract more people to the community.
Core capital ratio of 15 percent
This year, too, economic development is good and a similar amount of dividends will be paid out, says Haubner. The heart of the scheme is the cooperative dividend cycle: the funds generated by the Volksbanks are to be used to specifically promote regional projects via the cooperatives. This in turn serves to strengthen the business location, which ultimately leads to more business for the Volksbanks. The bank’s core capital ratio is now back at 15 percent.
The Austrian Cooperative Association (ÖGV) is the service and auditing association of the Volksbanken and commercial cooperatives in Austria – including well-known brands such as Expert, Red Zac, ABAU and APA.
