The German bank for private real estate financing Schwäbisch Hall announced to increase its current sales staff of 4,000 by 1,500 until 2010 to reach a market share of 30% in Germany. Schwäbisch Hall is a subsidiary of the Deutsche Genossenschaftszentralbank, the German association cooperative banks. Historically, cooperative banks have been strong in the countryside. Schwäbisch Hall now plans to strengthen its presence in large cities by increasing its sales personnel. About half of the 1500 new sales agents shall work at existing Schwäbisch Hall locations (offices), the other 750 are expected to establish their own offices. In all likelihood this means they will not be employed by the bank but have the status of self-employed. However, there is no precise information available on this issue.