Germany's Sparkassen in talks with Pin Group for possible in-branch mail service
Germany’s Sparkassen savings banks are currently in talks with Luxembourg-based carrier service Pin AG over a possible cooperation which may include offering postal services at Sparkassen branches, reported Spiegel magazine, citing a spokesman for the DSGV, the German savings bank association.
‘It is true that on a regional level talks are going on about a possible cooperation,’ the spokesman told the magazine.
At this point it is still open as to what form the agreement could take, but the report speculated that the DSGV might be looking into offering a service to compete against rival Deutsche Postbank AG and its parent company Deutsche Post AG, which offers customers postal services at its branches.
The report said it was also not clear whether Sparkasse or Pin AG employees would operate such a service.
Earlier this week, German media house Axel Springer AG bought a controlling share in Pin AG, raising its holding in the mail service provider to 71.6 pct from 23.5 pct.
Pin AG chief executive Guenter Thiel has said that his company plans to have a branch network as large as that of Deutsche Post’s by mid-2008.
The company handles about 2.3 mln mailings a day and expects to more than double its annual sales this year to 350 mln eur.
