The boom in structured products continues, according to the latest statistics published by the Bundesverband für Strukturierte Wertpapiere (BSW). In March, the total volume of the German market for structured products increased by 2.15 billion euros from the previous month, to reach 111.4 billion euros. A total of 16 issuers contribute to the data collected by the BSW. Extrapolated across all issuers, this would lead to an estimated total market of 121.1 billion euros.

According to the BSW data, investment certificates remain the most important category among structured securities by far. They increased by 2.0 billion euros to 107.8 billion euros. Capital protection and index/participation certificates, as well as Credit Linked Notes, recorded above-average growth rates. Investment products thus account for 97% of the business. Riskier leveraged products increased by 10.1%, but their market share is only 3.2%. Warrants and knock-out warrants are particularly in demand in this category.

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, LBBW had already emerged as the new leader in the issuer rankings, moving past DekaBank to take the top spot.

In the first quarter of 2024, LBBW was able to consolidate its leading position, and now holds a market share of 19.4%. A year ago, the bank was at 15.9%. At the end of March, DekaBank had a marketshare of 17.8%, compared to 23.1% in the same quarter last year.

DZ Bank stayed in third position with 16.7%, although it continued to slightly lose marketshare early in 2024, as it did in the previous quarter. Helaba ranks fourth. This means that the public sector bank networks together account for a total share of 68.5% of the German structured products market. In contrast, Deutsche Bank has a 4.6% marketshare and ranks sixth. Société Générale performs slightly better with a market share of 7.6%.

While the industry has been able to celebrate success in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, there was a broadside from BaFin four weeks ago. The regulatory authority announced at its annual press conference that it would intensify its monitoring of products and distribution practices. Savings banks and cooperative banks supposedly rely too heavily on structured products, which are often packaged as interest-bearing products.