I should like to report that the ECB made an operating profit of EUR 666 million. However, the ECB was required to pay EUR 913 million to the Eurosystem’s national central banks as remuneration for the foreign reserve assets, including gold, which were transferred to the ECB at the beginning of 1999.
Taking into account this remuneration, the financial result of the ECB for 1999 was a loss of EUR 247 million. Detailed explanations on the more complex factors behind this result are given in the Annual Report. As you may be aware, the Statute of the ESCB contains precise provisions on the allocation of profits and losses.