Net interest income¹ improved by € 11.9 million, or 5.4 percent, to € 233.4 million as we were able to increase this figure as predicted. This rise was due, in particular, to the continuing success and further expansion of our new business results during the year under review. This figure also contains a single-digit million euro income figure generated by the early termination of interest rate swaps.

Commissions paid amounted to € 82.4 million, or 8.8 percent higher than the previous year’s figure. Commission income fell to € 8.2 million making the net commission balance² a minus € 74.2 million following a minus € 66.8 million in the previous year.

This resulted in net interest income and net commission income³ of € 159.2 million, an increase of € 4.5 million, or 3 percent.

General administrative expenses rose by € 3.7 million to € 86.1 million. Personnel expenses increased by € 1.4 million or 3.2 percent.

The other administrative expenses rose by € 2.3 million, or 5.8 percent. The European banking levy was the main reason for the increase, as the percentage we claimed for irrevocable payment obligations declined. This figure was 30 percent in 2015 and only 15 percent in 2016. Payment of the banking levy, which is recognised as an expense, amounted to € 11.6 million for the year under review (previous year 8.6 million).

After adjustments for costs related to the banking levy, as well as expenses related to obligations stemming from various German and European supervisory authorities, which again increased, the remaining administrative expenses fell by 3.3 percent.

Depreciation and write-downs of intangible and tangible assets amounted to € 6.2 million or € 0.3 million less than the same year-ago figure.

Total administrative expenses⁴ amounted to € 92.2 million, compared to € 88.9 million in the previous year. The cost-income ratio⁵ excluding interest expenses from silent participations was 56 percent (previous year 52 percent).

The net sum of other operating expenses and income amounted to minus € 3.5 million.

This led to results from operations before deducting provisions for risk⁶ of € 63.5 million, or 3 percent more than the previous year’s figure.

The item “Write-downs on and adjustments to claims and certain securities and additions to provisions for possible loan losses”, totalled minus € 7.9 million after allocations to reserves pursuant to Article 340f of the German Commercial Code. The credit risk situation remained unremarkable. Additions to provisions for risk in the lending business (including direct write-downs) amounted to a minus € 16.4 million (previous year minus € 18.4 million). Net income derived from the redemption and the sale of securities held as current assets, as well as promissory note loans, amounted to € 20.7 million. This item contains an inflow of € 20.1 million stemming from a settlement reached with the government of Austria regarding HETA Asset Resolution AG.

The item “Income from reversals of write-downs on participating interests, shares in affiliated companies and securities treated as fixed assets” amounted to plus € 11.7 million. This figure is primarily the result of proceeds from the sale of securities held as fixed assets.

Prior to the transfer of funds to the Fund for General Banking Risks pursuant to Art. 340g of the German Commercial Code, results from operations after deducting provisions for risk amounted to € 67.3 million. After transferring € 7.0 million to the Fund for General Banking Risks, and a tax expense item of € 28.4 million, annual net income amounted to € 31.9 million, which is 44 percent higher than the same year-ago figure.

This performance enabled us to increase our net income for the year as predicted. We are satisfied with the way our business developed.