{
  "id": 4764686,
  "title": "Banks: Why Germany's banks are lagging behind despite progress in European comparison",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/banken-warum-deutschlands-banken-trotz-fortschritten-im-europaischen",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-01T02:14:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/banken-versicherungen/banken/banken-deutsche-institute-hinken-in-europa-hinterher/100249778.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "Germany's banks have become more resilient over the past decade, with improved capital, liquidity, and risk quality since the financial and sovereign debt crisis. However, a new study by Bearingpoint finds that they still lag behind in terms of profitability, with a return on equity of 8.6% in 2025, compared to 10.4% across Europe. German banks have improved their efficiency, with a cost-income ratio of 54.8%, but they struggle with non-performing loans, which increased by 87% between 2019 and 2025, mainly in commercial real estate and specialized mortgage lenders. The study warns that the coming years will be a reality check for the industry, with success depending on efficiency, data capabilities, and diversified earnings.",
  "summary": "Domestic banks are more stable and efficient than before the financial crisis. However, problem loans are growing faster than in any other major European market.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": "Germany's banks lag behind European peers in profitability due to their unique market structure and a rising problem credit ratio, particularly in commercial real estate and specialized property finance.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}