ABN Amro Real Estate Finance (REF) has emerged as the biggest real estate lender in the Netherlands in the first half of 2016 in terms of new loan production, according to the latest survey of top Dutch financiers by PropertyEU’s Dutch sister publication PropertyNL.
However, ING REF is on its heels and has reduced the gap with the new market leader over the period compared to 2015.
In the first six months of 2016, ABN Amro REF issued loans worth €1.34 bn in its home market. This is just €210 mln more than the figure for ING REF which came in at €1.13 bn. A year ago, the gap between the two players was much wider: for full-year 2015, ABN Amro reported new loan production of €1.67 bn while ING REF recorded €1.18 bn.
Expressed differently, ING REF has lent almost as much in the first six months of this year as in the whole of 2015.
ING REF also ranks second in terms of its total loan portfolio in the Netherlands. At end-June 2016, its loan book stood at €14.16 bn. This is almost on a par with the Dutch market leader FGH which reported a figure of €15.17 bn as at the same date. In contrast to these two market leaders, ABN Amro REF has seen its loan book increase since the outbreak of the crisis, but still trails both FGH and ING REF with a total volume of €5 bn as at 31 December 2015.
FGH slips in the ranking
While FGH remains the number one player in the Netherlands in terms of its total lending portfolio, it has seen new loan production slip following the announcement two years ago that the real estate finance unit is being integrated into the banking activities of its parent Rabobank. In the first six months of 2016, the bank – which is now part of Rabo REF – saw new loan production of €403 mln. For full-year 2015, the figure came to €1.09 bn, just slightly lower than ING REF.
FGH’s total lending portfolio has also fallen: at end-2014, FGH had a loan book of €17.92 bn and this slipped further in 2015 to €16.30 bn and to €15.17 bn in the first half of this year.
German player
Another player that has boosted its market share in the Dutch market is Deutsche Hypo: the German bank ranked fourth in terms of loan production for the first six months of 2016 with €261 mln. For full-year 2015, the figure came to €497 mln. Deutsche Hypo has also seen its total lending portfolio grow strongly in the past 12 months: at end-2015 its Dutch loan book stood at €1.30 bn and this figure grew further over the first nine months of the year to €1.72 bn.
ING REF has one of the most balanced loan portfolios of the Dutch property lenders: in 2015, offices accounted for roughly 25% of outstanding loans, with retail and housing each accounting for 20%.
An analysis of the new loan portfolios of the top Dutch financiers also shows that demand for housing has increased since the crisis. Retail investments, which were seen as inflation proof in the direct aftermath of the crisis, are losing their shine now that shopping patterns are changing. As a result cashflow has become less predictable for the investor, and indirectly for the financier as well.