Risultati WestLB
WestLB Core Bank Posts Pre-Tax Profit of € 255 Million
- Positive trend in operating business for clients
- Costs down by 10%
- Core capital ratio rises to 10.7%
- Group result of € -33 million before tax due to transfer effects
WestLB´s core bank posted a profit before income tax of € 255 million for the first nine months of 2010 (9M 2009: € 279 million). The systematic restructuring policy continued to bear fruit in the third quarter. The Bank trimmed costs sharply, further reduced total assets and strengthened its capital ratio on a sustainable basis.
Dietrich Voigtländer, Chairman of the Managing Board, said: “The business of the core bank is clearly positive and the restructuring, which we embarked upon at an early stage, has begun to bite. The higher income from our business with corporate clients proves that WestLB is highly regarded by its clients as an efficient and reliable partner. The Bank is clearly oriented towards its customer business, has further improved its core capital ratio and has a much improved risk profile. This will reap results in the challenges that lie ahead.”
WestLB Group reported a result before income tax of € -33 million (9M 2009: € 262 million) in the first nine months of the year.
Net interest income reached € 1,088 million and was higher in the corporate clients and project finance businesses. Net interest income in the year-earlier period (€ 1,347 million) includes interest margins for the full nine months from portfolios transferred to Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA) on April 30, 2010 with retroactive effect from January 1st. The
impairment charge for credit losses for the first nine months of 2010 amounted to € 183 million (9M 2009: € 582 million). The Bank took adequate account of all discernible credit risks.
Net fee and commission income in the Group stood at € 175 million (9M 2009: € 204 million). A total of € -64 million in sales commissions paid in the context of the strong savings banks´ certificate business offset some of these gains, but the business itself contributed to higher net interest income and higher income in the net trading result. Net fee and commission income in the core bank rose from € 112 million in the year-earlier period to € 151 million. Positive contributions came, in particular, from the lending and syndicated lending business as well as payments business. The
net trading result of € -375 million (9M 2009: € 137 million) above all reflects losses in value on government bonds and similar assets (€ -318 million, 9M 2009: € +147 million) in the first four months of the year transferred to EAA. On the other hand, WestLB no longer profits from revaluations on these assets. There were positive effects of € 154 million from measurement mismatches due to the application of IAS 39 (9M 2009: € -78 million) and € 33 million from credit spread changes with own liabilities (9M 2009: € -122 million). The
result from financial investments of € -59 million (9M 2009: € 52 million) primarily reflects the reversal of the negative revaluation reserve from transferred holdings in the amount of € -92 million.
Costs Reduced Further
WestLB continues to systematically rein in costs, with administrative expenses decreasing by 10% to € 780 million in the first nine months of the year. The number of full-time employees dropped by 231 to 4,740 at the end of September compared with the end of 2009.
The net figure for other operating expense and income stood at € 141 million, compared with € -33 million in the same period a year ago, and was predominantly attributable to effects from the portfolios transferred to EAA. The predominant portion of the € 40 million in restructuring expenses relates to expenses established to satisfy the conditions set by the European Commission.
Segment Results: Positive Trend in Corporates, Verbund and Mittelstand Business
Profit before income tax in the
Corporates & Structured Finance segment rose by 48% to € 267 million (9M 2009: € 181 million), highlighting the Bank´s firm footing in the customer business. In the
Capital Markets segment profit before income tax amounted to € 62 million, which was in line with expectations. The result in the previous year of € 488 million had benefited from the exceptionally favourable money market conditions. The result reflects the systematic customer focus in the capital markets business and the significantly reduced market risk of the Bank. Pre-tax profit in the
Verbund & Mittelstand segment improved to € 17 million (9M 2009: € 4 million), and in
Transaction Banking stood at € -6 million (9M 2009: € -3 million). As a result the pre-tax profit for the core bank came to € 255 million (9M 2009: € 279 million). The
PEG/Unbundling segment, which captures the results from the portfolios transferred to the EAA as well as the participations to be sold, had a negative impact on the Group result before tax of € -288 million (9M 2009: € -17 million).
Capital Ratios and Risk Profile Improved
With the transfer of risk positions and non-essential strategic assets with an aggregate nominal volume of approximately € 77 billion to the EAA, WestLB had already improved its risk profile and capital ratios significantly in the second quarter. The Bank made further progress on this front in the third quarter: The core capital ratio rose to 10.7% from 6.4% at the end of 2009 and the overall ratio to 15.4% from 9.1% at the end of 2009. Risk-weighted assets decreased considerably to € 50.3 billion (31.12.2009: € 83.0 billion) and were thus already below the target set by the European Commission for March 2011. Total assets amounted to € 220.2 billion on the reporting date (31.12.2009: € 242.3 billion). Adjusted for positive fair values from derivative financial and hedging instruments, total assets came to € 154 billion. The condition set by the European Commission required an initial decrease to € 187 billion by March 31, 2010 and has consequently been fulfilled. WestLB is on track, therefore, to accomplish the second step of the Commission´s condition within the timeframe stipulated, i.e. a reduction of total assets to € 125 billion by March 31, 2011.
WestLB Presses Ahead with Restructuring Programme
WestLB continues to press ahead with its restructuring programme while at the same time fulfilling the conditions set by the European Commission. In the third quarter the Bank sold its foreign subsidiaries Banque d´Orsay and WestLB International and closed a further foreign location in Dubai. At the beginning of November the European Commission announced that it was initiating extended proceedings into the terms under which non-essential strategic assets were spun off to the EAA in April. Under the understanding agreed with the Commission in mid-November, all parties involved will work together to develop a sustainable future concept for the Bank by February 15, 2011 on the basis of a revised restructuring plan in a constructive dialogue.
WestLB is continuing to prepare for the necessary process of consolidation in the Landesbank sector and the approaching change of ownership. Even after the talks on a possible merger were broken off by BayernLB, consolidation remains high on the agenda. Dietrich Voigtländer added: “The path towards a concentration of resources is a long and bumpy one, but it is imperative from a business point of view. We remain committed to taking the steps which are needed. The understanding reached with Brussels, and the stricter capital requirements under Basel III, have clearly reminded all parties involved that the time is now ripe for bringing about sustainable adjustments – not only at WestLB.”