Aareal Bank Group performs well in
a challenging environment
Aareal Bank Group performed well during the 2008
financial year, in a deteriorating market environ-
ment. Even though the Group could not escape
the impact of the global financial markets crisis
completely unscathed, it is notable that we posted
a profit for each quarter since the onset of the
financial markets crisis in the summer of 2007
both at Group level and in both of our segments,
Structured Property Financing and Consulting/
Services, and even for the fourth quarter of 2008,
the toughest the capital markets have seen in
decades.
Aareal Bank Group's sound performance is attri-
butable to two key factors: first, the viability of its
business model, built on the two strong pillars of
its Structured Property Financing and Consulting/
Services segments; and second, its conservative
business policy geared towards an appropriate
ratio of risk and return, which has paid off during
the crisis.
Aareal Bank Group posted very solid results for
the 2008 financial year, in spite of the severe
turmoil on financial markets and the serious
economic slowdown. Profit before taxes amounted
to 117 million adjusted for non-recurring
effects, this almost matched the strong result posted
for the previous year. A profit before taxes of
11 million was achieved in the fourth quarter of
2008. We consider this result as a great success.
Our sincere thanks go to our clients, for the trust
they have placed in us, and to all our members of
staff, for their extraordinary commitment shown
throughout the past year, without which this result
would not have been possible.
Letter to Shareholders
Dear shareholders, business associates and
Aareal Bank staff,
Aareal Bank Group has been profitable in each quarter
during 2008, a year that was difficult for the entire financial
sector. This underlines the viability of the bank`s business
model. To ensure the long-term future of our healthy
business foundation, we reached agreement with the
German Financial Markets Stabilisation Fund ("SoFFin")
regarding a package of support measures designed to
prepare the bank for the challenges ahead.
3Aareal Bank Group Annual Report 2008 | Letter to Shareholders