Assets side

On the assets side, loans and advances to customers grew by 6%. With an increase of € 5.1 bn, they accounted for most of the growth of total assets; 60% of this amount came from the CEE business segment. Within total customer lendings, overdraft facilities (+46%) and real estate financing (+19%) recorded the highest growth rates (while term loans declined by 5%). In line with this development, the strongest growth was seen in maturities up to 3 months and over 5 years. Loans and advances to customers (€ 86.4 bn) accounted for 56% of total assets. The provisioning charge for loans and advances to customers was slightly reduced (–3%). At the end of 2005, loans and advances to, and placements with, banks (€ 26.3 bn) were € 2.3 bn or 10% higher than a year earlier. Investments (€ 18.2 bn) increased by 5% in 2005, with bonds and other fixed-income securities accounting for most of this growth. This item mainly reflects consolidation of the most recent acquisitions. Trading assets (€ 17.7 bn) were slightly lower (–5%) than a year earlier, mainly due to the closing of derivative interest-rate/currency positions at CEE subsidiaries.