pbb Appoints Barkha Mehmedagić to Head CRE Financing

The Real Estate Finance Solutions area of Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (pbb) is facing a change in leadership: Barkha Mehmedagic will take over the area, which bundles all activities related to commercial real estate financing, by 1 July 2026 at the latest. She succeeds Thomas Köntgen, who is leaving the bank at his own request and on the best of terms after more than ten years on the Management Board to pursue new challenges. Mehmedagic joins from ING Germany, where she was most recently responsible for commercial real estate financing for Germany, Austria and Czechia in the corporate customer business. The 47-year-old banker and banking specialist has more than 25 years of experience in the real estate industry.

“We would like to thank Thomas Köntgen, who has shaped our core business, commercial real estate financing, for over a decade,” said Dr Louis Hagen, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of pbb. “As Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, he has made a significant contribution to the strategic development of the bank since its return to the stock market. We wish him all the best for the future. I am delighted that we have been able to recruit Barkha Mehmedagic, a proven real estate expert. She has in-depth and diverse experience in various areas of the real estate and credit industry and will certainly set new accents.”

Before joining ING Germany, Mehmedagic worked at Commerz Real Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH and Commerz Real AG. In her most recent position there, she was Managing Director and member of the Management Board, responsible for institutional sales and Group Treasury. She has taught at the International Real Estate Business School (IREBS) in Regensburg and is actively involved in the German Property Federation (ZIA), where she most recently served as deputy chair of the committee on financing.

Mehmedagic will initially join pbb as General Representative and, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, will take over the relevant Executive Board portfolio as soon as possible.

“Banking is undergoing fundamental change. This is particularly true for commercial real estate financing, which is attracting more and more private capital from institutional investors. pbb is addressing this by consistently aligning our central sales platform with this new reality. We are very much looking forward to working with Barkha Mehmedagic,” says Kay Wolf, Chief Executive Officer of pbb. “Her expertise combines outstanding knowledge of real estate financing with a deep understanding of the market for institutional investors. She will drive forward the further development of our core business, the distribution of real estate financing, with great momentum and new ideas.”