Finance
German property bank PBB swings to net loss for 2025
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 5, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 5, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 5, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 5, 2026
German property lender PBB reported a net loss of €284 million in 2025, reversing from a €90 million profit in 2024. The loss is driven by its complete withdrawal from the U.S. market and weaker commercial real estate conditions.
By Tom Sims
FRANKFURT, March 5 (Reuters) - Two of Germany's top property banks reported weaker financial results for 2025, citing troubles in the United States' commercial property market as they focus more on Europe.
The German property financing lender Deutsche Pfandbriefbank on Thursday posted a net loss for 2025 as it withdraws from the U.S. market.
At the same time, the lender Aareal Bank reported a 23% decline in profit and said it wants to reduce business in the United States.
The U.S. has been suffering from high office vacancies and falling property prices.
"We will remain active there but want to reduce U.S. office property loans faster than originally planned," said Aareal CEO Christian Ricken.
PBB posted a net loss of 284 million euros ($329.33 million) for the year, compared with a profit of 90 million euros in 2024.
It had warned last month that it was unlikely to meet its key financial targets for 2027, citing the drag on momentum from a subdued commercial property market this year.
Aareal Bank's net profit dropped to 137 million euros in 2025 from 179 million euros in 2024.
Privately owned Aareal said that its non-performing loans of $1.1 billion were mainly for U.S. offices.
It said that it took additional charges of 55 million euros.
"In the face of heightened geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, Aareal Bank will continue to pursue a cautious and prudent risk policy," Aareal said.
($1 = 0.8624 euros)
(Reporting by Tom Sims, editing by Friederike Heine and Thomas Seythal)
The bank reported a net loss due to its withdrawal from the US market and continued weakness in the commercial property sector.
Deutsche Pfandbriefbank posted a net loss of 284 million euros ($329.33 million) for the year 2025.
The bank had a profit of 90 million euros in 2024.
The bank warned it is unlikely to meet its key financial targets for 2027 due to a subdued commercial property market.
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