Hypoport AG: EUROPACE financial marketplace increases its transaction volume to more than EUR48 billion for 2017 as a whole

Press release

Volume of transactions in FY 2017

Hypoport: EUROPACE financial marketplace increases its transaction volume to more than EUR48 billion for 2017 as a whole

- Lack of stimulus from interest rates and shortage of properties for sale cause the overall market for mortgage finance to contract slightly in 2017

- Independent financial product distributors and the sub-marketplaces for savings banks and cooperative banks continue to generate disproportionately strong growth

- Transaction volume per sales day at a record EUR198 million in Q4 2017

Berlin, 18 January 2018: In 2017, the volume of transactions* generated on the EUROPACE B2B financial marketplace increased by 7.9 per cent to EUR48.2 billion (2016: EUR44.7 billion). The transaction volume per sales day** rose by 9.7 per cent to EUR193 million (2016: EUR176 million).

Given that the latest data from Deutsche Bundesbank shows that the overall market for mortgage finance in the period January to November 2017 declined by 0.6 per cent to EUR212.6 billion, compared with EUR213.9 billion in the prior-year period, Ronald Slabke, Chief Executive Officer of Hypoport AG, is satisfied on the whole with the performance of EUROPACE, belonging to the Credit Platform business unit: "2017 was characterised by a lack of stimulus from interest rates and a shortage of properties for sale. Nonetheless, the volume of transactions generated on EUROPACE increased again and the platform thus comfortably outperformed the overall mortgage finance market, which saw an unexpected small decline."

The volume of transactions on EUROPACE in the fourth quarter of 2017 amounted to EUR11.9 billion, an increase of 3.3 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of 2016. This relatively weak growth was due to the number of sales days in the fourth quarter of 2017, which was lower than in the final quarter of other years. If adjusted for this imbalance, the volume of transactions per sales day in the fourth quarter of 2017 would be a substantial EUR198 million, equating to a year-on-year rise of 8.4 per cent (Q4 2016: EUR183 million; Q3 2017: EUR190 million).

At 67 per cent and 17 per cent respectively, both FINMAS (sub-marketplace for savings banks) and GENOPACE (sub-marketplace for cooperative banks) achieved disproportionately strong growth compared with the overall EUROPACE marketplace in 2017. The volume of transactions brokered on FINMAS rose to EUR2.4 billion last year (2016: EUR1.5 billion), while the volume of transactions brokered on GENOPACE grew to EUR1.2 billion (2016: EUR1.0 billion).

"The longer-term trend of disproportionately strong increases in the transaction volumes on FINMAS and GENOPACE was reconfirmed in 2017. Moreover, financial product distributors again expanded their market share in Germany during 2017 and made a significant contribution to the growth of EUROPACE. By contrast, private banks saw their transaction volumes decrease slightly. In a contracting market, growth for some groups means that others lose out. Although EUROPACE makes all advisors - regardless of whether they are independent or work in the branch of a bank - more productive and more successful, fundamental business policy decisions can of course be detrimental to the success of individual partners. We again expect the market as a whole to simply hold steady in 2018 as the political environment will be even more uncertain. In a market that is not expanding, the best option for mortgage advisors is to increase their own efficiency. To this end, EUROPACE is the only logical solution for our current and new partners that will help them to maintain or achieve growth," says Ronald Slabke, commenting on the performance of the EUROPACE marketplace in detail.

On the product supplier side of the marketplace, the portion attributable to the Savings Banks Finance Group grew by 55 per cent to EUR5.6 billion (2016: EUR3.6 billion). The portion attributable to the cooperative financial network also rose, by 19 per cent, to reach EUR3.3 billion (2016: EUR2.7 billion). This means that the savings banks and cooperative banks also further increased their product supplier share compared with the private banks.

* All figures on the volume of financial products processed include cancellations and, consequently, cannot be compared directly with the revenue figures shown, which exclude subsequent cancellations. Neither the revenue nor the earnings generated by Hypoport can be directly extrapolated from the transaction figures given above.

** Sales days are defined as the number of working days without Saturdays, less half of the number of 'bridging days', (i.e. days falling between public holidays and weekends)

Information on Hypoport AG
Hypoport AG is the parent company of the Hypoport Group. The subsidiaries of the Hypoport Group are engaged in the distribution of financial services, facilitated or supported by financial technology ('fintech'), and are divided into four business units.
The Credit Platform business unit operates EUROPACE, which is an online financial marketplace and the largest German software platform offering mortgages, building finance products and personal loans. A fully integrated system links more than 450 partners - banks, insurers and financial product distributors. Several thousand loan brokerage advisors execute some 35,000 transactions per month on EUROPACE, generating a volume of around EUR4 billion. Besides EUROPACE, the FINMAS and GENOPACE sub-marketplaces and the B2B distribution companies Qualitypool and Starpool support the growth of the credit platform.
The Private Clients business unit, made up of the web-based, non-captive financial product distributor Dr. Klein Privatkunden and the consumer comparison portal Vergleich.de, brings together all business models aimed at directly advising consumers on mortgages, insurance or pension products.
The Institutional Clients business unit, operating under the DR. KLEIN Firmenkunden AG brand, is a leading financial service partner to housing companies and commercial property investors.
The Insurance Platform business unit operates Smart InsurTech, a platform for advice, comparison of tariffs and the administration of insurance policies.
Hypoport AG is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and has around 1,000 employees. Its shares are listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Deutsche Börse) and have been included in the SDAX since 2015.

Contact
Hypoport AG
Jan H. Pahl
Investor Relations Manager
Phone: +49 (0)30 / 42086 - 1942
Mobil: +49 (0)176 / 965 125 19
Email: ir@hypoport.de
www.hypoport.de

Key data on Hypoport's shares
ISIN DE 0005493365
WKN 549336
Stock exchanges symbol HYQ