Pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank and Amundi Deutschland, a subsidiary of European asset manager Amundi, are to work together on distributing pbb’s planned open-ended special fund to institutional investors.

Pbb and Amundi team up on fund origination

Pbb and Amundi Team Up on Fund Origination

The move follows the announcement in December that pbb was expanding into investment management in a bid to diversify its sources of income.

As part of this new strategy, the German lender said it planned to launch 'attractive real estate investment products for commercial investors' and to this end was looking into cooperation with other market participants.

In early March, pbb announced it was launching its first open-ended real estate fund in cooperation with Universal Investment, which will act as fund administrator (service KVG). The new special fund will focus on German office and mixed-use properties. 

The latest alliance with Amundi is a further step towards realising its diversification goal.

‘With this fund, we are extending our business model,’ said Andreas Arndt, CEO at pbb. ‘With the expansion into the area of investment management, we are driving the diversification of our business model decisively forward and want to tap into a new source of income. The cooperation with Amundi should make an important contribution in achieving this.’

The two partners aim to pool their expertise and contacts in distributing shares in the new fund: pbb will tap its network of institutional real estate investors, while Amundi Deutschland will leverage its extensive country-wide network.

‘We are pleased to have found a large, professional partner in Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, which is able to offer local and very specific product solutions for our institutional investors in the area of German office real estate and mixed-use properties,’ said Christian Pellis, CEO at Amundi Deutschland.

‘With this cooperation, we are expanding our product range for our institutional investors with a further asset class which is of interest for our target clients.’

Growth target and strategic initiatives
At the presentation of its growth target and relevant strategic initiatives on 9 March, pbb said its strategic focus would continue to be on real estate finance. The new business area, it explained, was aimed at ‘extending its growth potential and increasing profitability’.

The bank also said it was preparing two other business models. Together with project developer Groß & Partner, it was setting up a company that advises clients on the development of ‘green transformation’ solutions. 

In addition, it said it planned to launch a ‘pbb Debt’ product to enable risks to be placed with institutional investors such as banks, insurers and pension funds. 

Together, the fund, pbb debt and green consulting businesses are expected to account for up to 10% of revenues by the end of 2026. 

The commercial real estate financing portfolio is expected to grow by €3.5 bn to €33 bn by then.