Bankhaus Metzler is the oldest private bank in Germany.
(Photo: Martin Starl/Bankhaus Metzler)
Frankfurt Bankhaus Metzler, Germany’s oldest private bank, does not expect the stock exchanges to make any further price gains in 2023. “We don’t see too much room for maneuver on the markets as the year progresses,” said board member Mario Mattera on Tuesday.
On the one hand, there are still some risks for the stock exchanges. On the other hand, relatively small price setbacks have recently been seen, even in response to dramatic news. The reason given by Mattera is that most institutional investors are still underweight in equities.
One therefore expects a sideways trend this year. Recently, the leading German index Dax has moved in a relatively narrow trading range.
The risk of a recession is still there, said Mattera. Many economists are currently anticipating mini-growth for Germany, but a recession cannot be ruled out.
The German leading index Dax lost a good eleven percent last year. Since the beginning of 2023, however, it has already risen by around 14 percent. In the US, the S&P 500 hasn’t gained half as much.
With a view to the debt dispute in the USA, Mattera was confident: he expects an agreement. There was a similar situation before. Democrats and Republicans are currently struggling to raise the debt ceiling. If they don’t come to an agreement, the worst that could happen is that the United States defaults on payments.
The losses on the stock and bond markets also left their mark on Metzler’s business last year. In asset management, assets under management fell from 80 to 69 billion euros.
Price losses depress assets under management
The money house does not provide any information on the amount of assets that Metzler manages for wealthy private customers. Bank boss Emmerich Müller emphasized that Metzler was able to almost compensate for the decline in assets due to price losses through inflows of funds. The bank expects a “significant increase” in assets under management – “on the one hand because the markets have recovered and on the other hand through net inflows of funds”.
Metzler boss Müller will move to the supervisory board in the summer, followed by Gerhard Wiesheu at the head of the bank.
(Photo: IMAGO/sepp spiegl)
The commission result, which is essential for business success, remained stable at EUR 194 million. The traditional Frankfurt company founded in 1674 again showed a surplus of 2.3 million euros. This result is used to distribute a dividend to the owner family that has remained unchanged for decades.
It is not possible to read from the published business figures how exactly the year 2022 went for Metzler. Because how many reserves the bank has formed and what the risk provision looks like in detail, the bank does not break down further.
The bank employs around 800 people and earns its money in capital market business, investment banking, private asset management and asset management.
In July, Gerhard Wiesheu follows Müller at the Metzler helm. Müller moves to the supervisory board. The chairman of the supervisory board is the former DZ-Bank boss Wolfgang Kirsch.
In addition, Franz von Metzler, the son of the head of the family Friedrich von Metzler, recently joined the board of directors again as a member of the founding family. He is responsible for the asset management business and human resources.
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