The roots of RSB lie in the founding of Salamander-Bund GmbH in 1952; since 2001 it has been operating as RSB Retail + Service Bank and no longer just regulates shoe retailers, but also other associations and sectors.

Special bank with special tasks

"As a bank, we specialize in central regulation and guarantee our listed suppliers that our retailers are allowed to purchase from them and that we pay the invoices," summarizes managing director Bernd Hoffmann. "The business is primarily used by associations in the retail, shoes, textiles, and sports sectors, however, we are set up in such a way that we can work completely independently of the industry and want to do so in the future."

RSB is integrated into Intersport Deutschland eG and Sabu Schuh-Verbund eG and sees itself as part of a powerful group. The bank, based in Kornwestheim, has 41 employees and is responsible for regulating one billion EUR per year. Central regulation covers various areas; RSB is able to cover the entire spectrum - purchase of receivables, factoring, surety acceptance, various risk models, securities transactions.

"As a bank, we offer our products - loans, investments, and account management - exclusively to our retailers," says Bernd Hoffmann. "Due to our banking license, we could conduct all other banking transactions in our portfolio, but we have deliberately specialized in these products and positioned ourselves as a healthy, reliable partner of our retailers and suppliers; even in difficult times like the Covid pandemic."

Reliable partner with visions

RSB sees itself as a service provider that thinks and acts in partnership. The goal is always to achieve a win-win effect for all involved. "One of our strengths is a strong team spirit," says Bernd Hoffmann. "We always see ourselves as a team, never as lone fighters. Even as a managing director, I see myself as a team leader who relies on employees to bring and implement new ideas into the company. We appreciate each other and have the courage to try new things."

Based on this company philosophy, RSB aims to further increase the central regulation volume - "to provide even more performance and to be faster and better for our partners," says Bernd Hoffmann. Modern technologies should also contribute to this. "We are dealing with the topic of AI and will digitize the customer acceptance process more strongly in the future," says Bernd Hoffmann. "There is always something to expand in order to be able to work even faster and more agilely." RSB is also open to new associations and sectors beyond the areas of textiles, shoes, and sports. This year, the special bank could significantly grow through another partnership - and is well prepared for that.