Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, or PBB, a German lender focused on commercial real estate, has set aside more money for bad debts as it prepares for what it says is the worst decline in commercial property values in 15 years.
PBB increased its provisions for last year by as much as €215 million ($231.7 million), it said in a statement Wednesday, citing “persistent weakness of the real estate markets.”
“Despite these expenses, PBB remains profitable thanks to its financial strength — even in the greatest real estate crisis since the financial crisis,” it added. The bank expects to report a profit of €90 million ($97 million) for 2023.
PBB is at least the second German bank to warn of potential losses on commercial real estate loans.
Germany’s biggest lender Deutsche Bank said last week that it had allocated €123 million ($133 million) during the fourth quarter of last year to absorb potential defaults on its US commercial real estate loans. That’s more than quadruple the amount it set aside during the same three-month period in 2022.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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