pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has reported a 34% jump in pre-tax profits to €51 mln in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period last year. The good news come as suitors circle to acquire the German real estate lender.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has reported a 34% jump in pre-tax profits to €51 mln in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period last year. The good news come as suitors circle to acquire the German real estate lender.

Earlier this month it was reported Anbang Insurance Group of China is in talks to buy pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank from its parent Hypo Real Estate Holding (HRE) in a deal said to be valued at €1.5 bn.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank said the good result was achieved even though the bank had to absorb a further €79 mln valuation adjustment on receivables against Austrian wind-down institution Heta, which are guaranteed by the Austrian federal state of Carinthia.

Positive one-off effects and the bank's good operating performance more than offset this 'extraordinary burden’, pbb said in the statement outlining its results. Andreas Arndt, Co-CEO and CFO of pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, added: 'pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank started 2015 with strong momentum. Good pre-tax profits and strong new business give us a tailwind for the 2015 financial year.'

New business totalling €2.8 bn bn was originated during the first quarter of 2015, up from €1.6 bn in Q1 2014.

Commercial Real Estate Finance accounted for € 2.7 bn of the total new business, including extensions by more than one year.

Almost half of new business (46%) was again originated in Germany, followed by the Nordic countries (19%), the UK (14%) and Spain (10%). The average loan-to-value ratio for new commitments improved slightly, to approximately 61% (full year 2014: 64%).

Boosted by strong new business, the bank’s strategic Real Estate Finance portfolio grew by a further 8% in the first three months of the year, to € 23.5 billion from €21.8 bn at end-2014 measured in terms of financing volumes.

The bank also raised €1.4 bn (Q1 2014: € 2.2 bn) in long-term funding during the first quarter of 2015, via Pfandbriefe and unsecured issues.