Information for owners and advisers
Who is Aareal Bank?
Perhaps you are already aware that we offer specialist products and services for property management companies and condominium administrators ‒ maybe because your property manager has told you about a partner that could be of interest ‒ and you would now like to learn more about what kind of institution Aareal Bank actually is?
Well, hopefully the questions and answers below are exactly the right ones to provide you with an initial insight and give you a sense of who we are.
What is Aareal Bank’s business?
Aareal Bank Group, headquartered in Wiesbaden, is a leading international property specialist.
Aareal Bank AG is the parent company of the Group. It manages the various entities organised in the Group’s two business segments: Structured Property Financing and Bank Consulting/Services
The Structured Property Financing segment encompasses all of Aareal Bank Group’s property financing and funding activities. In the segment Banking & Digital Solutions, Aareal Bank Group supports businesses from the housing, property management and energy industries by combining extensive advisory services and product solutions with traditional corporate banking services and deposit-taking.
How is Aareal Bank active in the housing and property industries?
As market leader, we look after around 4,200 companies from the housing, property and energy sectors in Germany, approximately two-thirds of which are also, or principally, active in the third-party management segment. Since our foundation as Deutsche Wohnstätten-Bank AG in 1923, we have been firmly established in the housing industry, becoming a pioneer in electronic payments in the 1960s, and later in the provision of data centre services.
Thanks to our long-term partnerships and cooperations with IT manufacturers, our clients today not only have access to traditional banking services and various investment opportunities, but also to the automatic processing of mass payments and extensive process optimisation. Due to the high degree of automation, this exclusive integration in property management systems provides users of the BK01* payment transaction procedure with a substantial competitive edge.
We have a good regional network, and are available to our clients and their customers through our contact persons in the Berlin, Essen and Wiesbaden sales centres and through contact persons in the regions.
*The described BK01 solutions are products by First Financial Software GmbH, a joint venture of Aareal Bank and Aareon. Aareal Bank AG is an exclusive BK01 account system partner. Prerequisite for the use of BK01 is an account with Aareal Bank AG.
How strongly is Aareal Bank involved in the property management segment?
We are convinced that the housing industry is one of the most important sectors of Germany’s economy and society, so are pleased to support both the market participants in their current challenges and contribute our own ideas to finding solutions.
That’s why we are a member of the Federal Association of Real Estate Managers (BVI), a cooperation partner of the Association of German Real Estate Managers (DDIV), and also take part in a range of established property management events throughout Germany.
What is Aareal Bank’s approach to the property management business?
In the property management business, it is particularly important to use efficient solutions and processes to free up time to work on the properties and with clients. The payment transaction and electronic banking products of Aareal Bank provide exactly that: for housing companies, property managers and condominium administrators under German law. Aareal Bank has therefore specialised its products for firms whose business is managing third-party portfolios.
The integrated BK01* procedure and Aareal Account, our system-independent electronic banking package, offer many advantages for the housing industry in the form of complete workflows and convenient functionalities. When used by third-party managers, these are supplemented with specific added value.
*The described BK01 solutions are products by First Financial Software GmbH, a joint venture of Aareal Bank and Aareon. Aareal Bank AG is an exclusive BK01 account system partner. Prerequisite for the use of BK01 is an account with Aareal Bank AG.
How secure are deposits at Aareal Bank?
Aareal Bank is founded on a sound business model, which proved particularly successful in the last financial crisis.
There are two established protection schemes that apply to deposits at Aareal Bank. The deposit guarantee scheme of German banks ‒ membership of which is required by law for German banks ‒ guarantees protection for every depositor for sight, term and savings deposits up to an amount of EUR 100,000. Note: In the case of condominium owners’ associations, "per client" means that the protection ceiling applies to each owner.
Aareal Bank is also a member of the Deposit Protection Fund of the Association of German Banks, which supplements the protection provided by the statutory deposit guarantee scheme. According to the current By-laws of the Deposit Protection Fund, each creditor will be compensated up to a protection ceiling of EUR 5 million (natural persons and entities treated as such) or EUR 50 million (non-financial corporations and entities treated as such), and – if below the protection ceiling – only up to a maximum of 15% of the Bank's own funds within the meaning of Article 72 CRR. From 1 January 2025, these protection ceilings will change to EUR 3 million and EUR 30 million and a maximum of 8.75% of the Bank's own funds, and from 1 January 2030, to EUR 1 million and EUR 10 million and a maximum of 8.75% of the Bank's own funds.
The Bank will inform the client of the relevant protection ceiling upon request; the guarantee level is also available on the Internet at https://einlagensicherungsfonds.de (in German)
If you would like more detailed information on the scope of protection pursuant to the By-laws of the Deposit Protection Fund, as amended on 1 January 2023, please refer in particular to no. 20 of our General Terms and Conditions and to section 6 of the By-laws of the Deposit Protection Fund, which you can also find at the web address provided above.
Who owns Aareal Bank?
Aareal Bank is majority-owned by Atlantic BidCo GmbH. Atlantic BidCo is indirectly held by funds controlled, managed or advised by Advent International Corporation and Centerbridge Partners as well as CPP Investment Board Europe S.à.r.l., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments“) and other minority co-investors.
Prices and conditions
- General Business Conditions (Copyright Bank-Verlag GmbH, Köln)
- Terms and conditions for credit transfers (Copyright Bank-Verlag GmbH, Köln)
- Terms and Conditions for Direct Debit Collection (Copyright Bank-Verlag GmbH, Köln)
- Terms and Conditions for Payments by Direct Debit under the SEPA-Business-to-Business (B2B) Direct Debit Scheme (Copyright Bank-Verlag GmbH, Köln)
- Terms and Conditions for Payments by Direct Debit under the SEPA Core Direct Debit Scheme (Copyright Bank-Verlag GmbH, Köln)
- Schedule of Prices and Services
- Table of Prices
- Conditions for cheque transactions (in German / Copyright Bank-Verlag GmbH, Köln)
- Terms and Conditions for Remote Data Transmission (Copyright Bank-Verlag GmbH, Köln)
- European Commission consumer information on electronic payments under PSD2