Tag: France

While many banks, including Erste Bank, KBC, ING, Deutsche Bank and Fortis, have been quick to grasp the advantages that relationships with post offices–either through distribution arrangements, joint ventures or acquisitions–can bring, many European banks still underestimate the opportunities that working with post offices present.

According to Carl Holsters, a consultant to Post Group, the Belgian post office, as well as having extensive branch networks, post offices have a strong brand name that banks can capitalise on. Indeed, in some countries in Eastern Europe, this is a distinct advantage as local people often distrust their local banks.

While there are many different models that banks can follow when looking to work with a post office, Holsters believes that Netherlands-based ING Group, which fully owns the banking operation Postbank, which in turn owns 50 percent of the postal services operator Postkantoren, has one of the most successful arrangements with a post office. About 50 percent of the country’s population has a Postbank account. Moreover, Postbank and ING Bank in the Netherlands now generate about 15.5 percent of the group’s total profits.

In some European markets, post office banks are being transformed into fully licensed banks and many of them now have a presence that is powerful enough to threaten existing market leaders.

The report gives extensive details of the relationships between banks and post offices in many countries throughout Europe.