Stabilisation in Europe and strategic opportunities in Dutch real estate finance

In an interview with Real Asset Media, Alexander Huber, Global Head of Real Estate, and Annemarie Leeuwen, Head of Real Estate, Amsterdam at BayernLB, the German commercial and investment bank, shared their insights on market trends, regional focus, and the bank’s evolving strategy in the Netherlands.

“2024 was quite a challenging year in many respects,” Huber said. “We also saw some stabilisation in the market, which we hope for seeing more in 2025.” This stabilisation, he noted, has allowed BayernLB to reassess its geographical focus. “Some markets are recovering faster and some a bit slower. Germany is one of the slowest markets in recovery… surprisingly, Italy is doing very well. But we also were quite convinced in the Dutch market.”

BayernLB opened its Amsterdam office in late 2023 to be closer to its Dutch clients and deepen its involvement in residential real estate. “It was our pleasure that Anne-Marie Leuven could join us mid last year to head the office in Amsterdam,” Huber said. “It should open us the door for the Dutch residential market rather than doing it out of Munich.”

Leeuwen outlined the asset classes BayernLB is prioritising. “The main part of the assets are logistic and offices, retail and residential,” she said. “We already have a loan book of €1.5 billion in the Netherlands. We want to focus on residential financing, but if we have an office request on the table, we will look at it as well.”

The bank is also evaluating new sectors. “It would be really nice if we could add hotel financing,” she said. “We are also doing some research regarding other asset classes, but that has not been finalised yet.”

Looking ahead, Huber struck a note of cautious optimism. “2025 was promising in the beginning. Looking to the last weeks, it might end up being not so easy as we hoped to be… the political environment remains challenging. That will also have an impact on the market.”

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