Hypo Real Estate

Hypo Real Estate Holding AG was established in 2003 when HypoVereinsbank separated and reorganised its real-estate financing business. The new group was designed as a specialist financial institution rather than a universal retail bank. Its activities were organised around commercial property finance, infrastructure and public finance, and capital markets and asset management. The group’s principal clients were institutional borrowers, property companies, public bodies, and other professional market participants. The company expanded during a period when European banks were increasing their participation in property and public-finance markets. In 2005, its growing scale and market valuation led to admission to Germany’s DAX index, where it remained until December 2008. The group’s most important strategic expansion came in 2007, when it acquired Depfa Bank. Depfa specialised in public-sector and infrastructure finance, and the transaction broadened Hypo Real Estate’s business beyond commercial property lending. Depfa continued as a wholly owned subsidiary of the group. The acquisition also increased the group’s exposure to wholesale funding and liquidity risk. When the global financial crisis intensified in 2008, the debt burden and funding requirements associated particularly with Depfa became central to Hypo Real Estate’s distress. On 29 September 2008, the German government announced a proposed €35 billion credit line backed by the government and a consortium of German banks. The arrangement broke down on 4 October after the banking consortium withdrew. A second crisis summit produced a new support package on 6 October 2008. German banks were to contribute €30 billion and the Deutsche Bundesbank €20 billion to a credit line. The rescue generated political criticism, including demands for changes to senior management and scrutiny of whether the company had adequately informed the government about its situation. Several supervisory board members who were independent of major investors resigned after the first crisis summit, and a replacement group included Michael Endres as chairman together with Bernd Knobloch, Edgar Meister, Sigmar Mosdorf, Hans Jörg Vetter, Bernhard Walter, and Manfred Zaß. Chief executive Georg Funke subsequently resigned and Axel Wieandt took over on 31 October 2008. The group’s shares lost their former market standing: Hypo Real Estate left the DAX in December 2008 and were later transferred from the MDAX to the SDAX in September 2009. The German Financial Markets Stabilisation Fund, or SoFFin, provided additional support through a series of guarantees. By February 2009, the total state-backed framework was reported at €52 billion, while the broader government support associated with the rescue had reached approximately €102 billion by April. In April 2009, SoFFin made a takeover offer intended to increase its ownership to 90 percent. The German parliament also established an investigative committee to examine the circumstances of the bailout. Legislative changes adopted during the crisis enabled the government to pursue a compulsory transfer if the offer was rejected. At an extraordinary general meeting on 5 October 2009, shareholders approved a squeeze-out of the remaining private shareholders at €1.30 per share. This completed the nationalisation of Hypo Real Estate less than a year after it had been a DAX constituent. The group’s subsequent history is tied to state ownership and the management of the rescued banking assets rather than to expansion of a conventional consumer brand. The available reference material confirms the existence of Hypo Real Estate as a holding-company structure and identifies several associated banks, but it does not provide enough information to establish a current public website, present management team, or definitive operating status. Accordingly, the brand is documented primarily as a historically significant German specialist banking group whose collapse became one of the country’s most prominent financial-crisis rescues.

1. 2009SoFFin launches takeover offer

   The state rescue fund seeks to increase its ownership to 90 percent.

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2. 2009Nationalisation is completed

   An extraordinary general meeting approves a €1.30-per-share squeeze-out of remaining private shareholders.

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3. 2008Initial rescue plan is announced

   The German government and a bank consortium announce a proposed €35 billion credit line after the group encounters severe liquidity problems.

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4. 2008Second rescue package is agreed

   German banks and the Bundesbank agree to provide a combined €50 billion credit line after the first arrangement fails.

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5. 2008Leadership changes during the crisis

   Georg Funke resigns as chief executive and Axel Wieandt succeeds him on 31 October.

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6. 2008Leaves the DAX

   Hypo Real Estate is removed from the DAX in December as its market value and investor confidence collapse.

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7. 2007Acquires Depfa Bank

   The acquisition adds a major public-finance and infrastructure-finance business to the group.

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8. 2005Joins the DAX

   Hypo Real Estate becomes one of the 30 companies included in Germany’s DAX index.

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9. 2003Hypo Real Estate is created

   The group originates from the real-estate financing business separated from HypoVereinsbank.

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A specialist institutional banking group positioned around large-scale real-estate, infrastructure, public-sector, and capital-markets financing rather than retail banking.

• Commercial property financeReal-estate finance2003

  Lending and related financing for commercial real estate formed the group’s core business. The activity served professional borrowers and property-market participants rather than retail mortgage customers, and made Hypo Real Estate one of Germany’s largest commercial property lenders.

• Public and infrastructure financePublic finance2007

  The group financed public-sector borrowers, infrastructure projects, and related institutional transactions. This area was significantly expanded by the acquisition of Depfa Bank in 2007, whose public-finance activities remained within the Hypo Real Estate Group.

• Capital markets and asset managementCapital markets2003

  Hypo Real Estate also operated in capital-markets and asset-management activities connected with its institutional financing businesses. The reference material identifies this as one of the group’s three broad operating sectors but does not specify individual investment products or current offerings.

• Pfandbrief and wholesale fundingBank funding

  The group’s banking subsidiaries included institutions associated with German covered-bond and wholesale-finance markets, including Hypo Pfandbrief Bank International. Specific instruments and their current availability are not established by the supplied sources.

• 2009State takeover and squeeze-outM&A

  By April 2009, the German state had provided extensive support and SoFFin already held approximately 90 percent of the company.

  What changed. SoFFin pursued a takeover and shareholders approved the compulsory acquisition of the remaining private shares at €1.30 per share on 5 October 2009.

  Aftermath. Hypo Real Estate became fully nationalised and ceased to operate as an independently traded public company.

  Squeeze-out price per share. €1.30 (5 October 2009)

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• 2008Acceptance of state-backed rescue financingStrategy

  Liquidity problems, particularly those associated with the debt burden of Depfa Bank, threatened the group during the global financial crisis.

  What changed. Hypo Real Estate entered successive rescue arrangements involving German banks, the Deutsche Bundesbank, and later SoFFin guarantees.

  Aftermath. The group remained dependent on public support, experienced management turnover, and lost its DAX status.

  Initial proposed credit line. €35 billion (29 September 2008)

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• 2007Acquisition of Depfa BankM&A

  Hypo Real Estate sought to expand its public-finance and infrastructure-finance capabilities alongside its commercial real-estate lending business.

  What changed. The group acquired Depfa Bank, which continued as a wholly owned subsidiary.

  Aftermath. The transaction broadened the group’s business scope but increased its exposure to the funding and debt pressures that became critical during the 2008 financial crisis.

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• 2008Hypo Real Estate bailout and governance controversyControversy

  The group’s failure during the global financial crisis prompted unprecedented state and banking-sector support. German political leaders criticised senior management and questioned whether the government had been adequately informed about the scale and nature of the liquidity problems. A parliamentary committee was formed to investigate the bailout and the events surrounding it.

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• 2009State support expands through SoFFin guarantees

  Further guarantees arranged through Germany’s Financial Markets Stabilisation Fund increased the state-supported framework to €52 billion.

  Regulation
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• 2009SoFFin launches takeover offer

  The German rescue agency launched an offer intended to raise its equity stake in Hypo Real Estate to 90 percent.

  M&ARegulation
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• 2009Hypo Real Estate becomes fully nationalised

  Shareholders approved a squeeze-out at €1.30 per share, transferring the remaining private equity interests to the German state and completing nationalisation.

  M&ARegulation
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• 2008German government and banks announce an initial rescue credit line

  The German finance minister announced a proposed €35 billion credit line for Hypo Real Estate during the escalating global financial crisis.

  Other
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• 2008First Hypo Real Estate rescue arrangement collapses

  A banking consortium withdrew from the initial rescue arrangement, forcing the German authorities to negotiate a second support package.

  OtherRegulation
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• 2008Second rescue package agreed

  German banks and the Deutsche Bundesbank agreed to provide a combined €50 billion credit line to support the distressed group.

  Other
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• 2008Axel Wieandt becomes chief executive

  Axel Wieandt replaced Georg Funke as chief executive on 31 October.

  Leadership change
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1. Hypo Real Estate