In response to tighter home‑office policies, several Volksbanken in Germany will grant extra vacation days to staff who always attend the workplace, aiming to balance work‑location restrictions with increased leave.
Following the financial distress of multiple cooperative banks, the institutions are reviewing whether former executives can be held liable for the support measures taken, and are assessing possible compensation claims.
Marija Kolak has led the Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken for almost nine years. Several cooperative banks recently needed to be rescued by the sector’s support fund, and Kolak announced she will leave her position at the end of 2027.
The President of the German cooperative banking association BVR, Marija Kolak, criticized individual member banks for engaging in partly high-risk business activities and announced consequential enforcement action against such practices.
The German cooperative banks association (BVR) has set a strategic goal to increase membership among its customer base to 75% over the coming years, with particular emphasis on attracting younger banking customers.