Belfius sets its sights on Immoweb
Belfius sets its sights on Immoweb
State-owned bank Belfius is teaming up with media groups Rossel and Roularta to boost the classified ad site Immovlan, aiming to put serious pressure on competitor Immoweb. The deal highlights how banks are increasingly diversifying their services to tap into new revenue streams.
With an average of 4.5 million monthly visitors and 140,000 properties listed for sale or rent, Immovlan is the second-largest real estate website in Belgium. However, the platform, launched a decade ago as a joint venture between Roularta and Rossel, still lags behind Immoweb. With a market share of over 50%, Immoweb has long been the dominant player in the Belgian property market.
To shift the balance, Rossel and Roularta have brought Belfius on board as an additional shareholder in Immovlan. The state bank is acquiring a 30% stake in the platform, reducing the shares held by the two media companies from 50% to 35% each. The financial terms of Belfius’s investment have not been disclosed.
Beyond banking
Belfius plans to integrate the Immovlan platform into its mobile banking app, which is used daily by 1.5 million customers. In the future, users who find their dream home on Immovlan will be able to digitally apply for a mortgage through Belfius directly on the site.
“I’m not doing this just to please Xavier Bouckaert and Bernard Marchand, the CEOs of Roularta and Rossel,” says Belfius CEO Marc Raisière. “This isn’t philanthropy. We’re creating value for ourselves too.”
The concept is not entirely new. In fact, Immoweb announced a similar partnership in late February, enabling house hunters to apply for a mortgage fully online via Keytrade Bank.
“That’s true, but we’d already been negotiating with Immovlan for almost a year,” Raisière responds. “This deal fits perfectly with the strategy we’ve outlined for the coming years. By 2025, we aim to be a much stronger player in both banking and insurance. We’ll achieve that not only on our own, but also through ‘beyond banking’—offering customers services that go well beyond traditional financial products.”
“In real estate, we’ve already built an ecosystem around us,” says Raisière. “We have 1.5 million app users to whom we can offer mortgages. Two years ago, we also launched Jaimy, a platform that helps people quickly find a painter or plumber. With Immovlan added, we can offer a full-service experience in this niche.”
More partnerships in other niches are likely to be announced in the coming months, Raisière hints. “If all goes well, we’ll announce another strategic partnership before the end of September.”
Could an investment in Gocar.be—a secondhand car platform also co-owned by Rossel and Roularta—be in the cards? “I never say never,” Raisière replies.
Swiss army knife
Belfius’s new investment underscores how banks are increasingly betting on non-financial services and collaborations to strengthen customer engagement and compete with fast-growing newcomers like N26 and Revolut. At the same time, they’re seeking alternative revenue streams, as persistently low interest rates continue to erode traditional banking profits.
With customers—especially since the pandemic—relying more than ever on digital banking, the mobile app is becoming the ultimate platform to launch these new services. That’s why nearly every financial institution is transforming its app into a kind of digital Swiss army knife offering a wide range of tools.
For instance, KBC customers can use their app to pay for parking or with meal vouchers, while BNP Paribas Fortis and insurer AG Insurance struck a strategic partnership last year with roadside assistance provider Touring to co-develop mobility solutions.
And it’s not just the big players venturing into this space. Smaller bank Beobank launched a leasing model last year for home security systems.
Still, much work remains to be done. A recent study by consulting firm Capgemini reveals that many banks fail to meet the digital expectations of their customers due to outdated back-end IT systems. Closer collaboration with more specialized fintechs could help bridge that gap, the report notes.
“Corona will cost us hundreds of millions”
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Belfius will also need to set aside significantly more capital to cover potential credit losses, says CEO Marc Raisière. “That could amount to several hundred million euros.” Last month, KBC estimated that the pandemic could result in 1.1 billion euros in bad loans this year.
Raisière cannot yet say how high the bill will be for Belfius. “It’s still too early. To accurately assess the crisis’s impact, we’re currently analyzing our customer portfolio file by file. It’s a mammoth task, but it’s the only way to make a correct financial assessment. Belfius will provide further communication on this in August, when the half-year results are announced.”
Source: De Tijd, Pieter Suy, 2/06/2020, This is an automatically generated translation of the original article, Link to original article.