While interest margins and commissions, which are their key sources of profitability, have declined in total by 7% and 6% respectively, a compensation of this negative trend has partly been achieved at the level of certain individual institutions through an increase in their one-off exceptional revenues and/or a release of previously created general provisions.
The one-off exceptional revenues increased in total by 525 million euros, or 132%, and are related for the major part to capital gains income through the sell-off of the stock-holdings by several banks in Cedel, this in the context of the total acquisition of the Luxembourg based embedded payment and securities settlement system by Deutsche Boerse AG.