VDK Bank is increasing its Belgian ambitions with an office in Brussels

After a record year, the banking group VDK is working on plans to expand its activities in French-speaking Belgium. She wants to open an office in every provincial capital in the coming years. ‘First come the offices, then the clicks.’

VDK Bank is invariably described as Ghent through and through, but the group has been outgrowing its East and West Flemish home market for some time. In recent years, the bank has expanded its network across almost all of Flanders and last month it opened an office in Hasselt.

At the same time, the bank also wants to gain a foothold in French-speaking Belgium. VDK Bank presented its calling card in Brussels and Wallonia last year through a deal with the young sustainable bank NewB. When it turned out that it had failed to secure its banking license, VDK Bank threw a lifebuoy by using the company as a virtual agency in French-speaking Belgium. The 25,000 NewB customers who then switched to VDK Bank, including many French speakers, increasingly see the Ghent group as their home bank.

In the coming months, VDK Bank will further increase its ambitions for Brussels and Wallonia. The bank will open its first physical office in Brussels before the holidays, says CEO Leen Van den Neste. “We will start in Brussels before the summer at a beautiful location,” it says. ‘The people who will be working there are now all in training. Later, probably from next year, we also hope to open offices in Walloon provincial capitals.’

VDK is therefore looking for new branches, while most other banks in our country are just cutting back on their networks because customers are increasingly banking digitally. “We try to make our customer experience seamless in every way,” says Van den Neste. ‘Also digital: you can become a customer with us via our app in less than seven minutes. But we continue to find it important that we are close to our customers and can guarantee them personal service. That’s why first come the bricks, the physical offices, and then the clicks.’

Like most other banks, VDK Bank saw its income increase significantly last year as a result of the increased interest rates. But the bank appears to have largely passed on this interest income to its customers: while interest income last year was 22.3 million euros higher than in 2022, interest costs for the bank also increased by 22.7 million.

The fact that net profit rose by 1.4 percent last year to 18.01 million euros – the third record result in a row – was due to the write-back of previous provisions and strict cost control. “This is despite inflation and the extra costs that the integration of NewB has entailed,” says Van den Neste.

These costs may increase further in the coming months as a result of higher banking taxes and a number of additional measures that the government has imposed on the financial sector. At the end of last month, it was decided that in many cases banks can no longer charge reinvestment fees if customers want to refinance their home loan. Previously, the linking of current and savings accounts was abolished and the bundled sale of insurance and home loans was tackled.

“Implementing these measures will cost the sector money,” says Van den Neste. ‘I also don’t think those decisions will always benefit consumers. When I see the measures the banks will have to deal with in 2023 and already in 2024, a bit of regulatory stability seems welcome. For every decision made now, banks must adapt their systems. Perhaps the financial sector and the government should have a major debate together about what they really want for consumers, companies and banks. To then make clear decisions together for the longer term.’