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Pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank said new lending business more than doubled to €3.4 bn in the first six months of 2013 compared with the year-earlier period.

Real estate finance accounted for the bulk - or €2.8 bn - of aggregate new business during the first half, with public investment finance taking the remainder.

Around 47% of total new real estate business was originated in Germany, followed by pbb's other core markets of France (18%), Central and Eastern Europe (14%) and the UK (11%).

The German lender boosted pre-tax profit by almost 20% to €60 mln in the first half compared with the year-earlier period. The bank raised long-term funds of some €5 bn during the first half of the year, up from €3.7 bn in the first six months of 2012.

Manuela Better, CEO of pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, commented: ‘We maintained the momentum seen during the second half of 2012 throughout the first six months of the current year. pbb has been profitable for three years now, having generated pre-tax profits of around € 590 mln. We remain well on track for achieving our business targets for 2013 as a whole.’