Since the end of 2017 NORD/LB and its holders are working on a comprehensive concept for repositioning the Bank and strengthening its capital. This is intended to prepare the Bank for further increases in regulatory requirements and to permanently strengthen its crisis resilience and competitiveness. Various far-reaching options are currently being considered in this process. These include a formal bidding process currently in progress to create a basis for a possible participation by external investors.

Hamburg/Hanover, 30 November 2018 – The acquisition agreed at the beginning of the year of the asset management activities of NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale by M.M.Warburg & CO (AG & Co.) KGaA has now been completed. The approvals and required resolutions were obtained as of 30 November 2018. Warburg Invest KAG mbH and NORD/LB Asset Management AG will merge their operations within a holding company. Upon entry into the commercial register, NORD/LB Asset Management AG will trade as Warburg Invest AG.

NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank generated earnings before taxes and restructuring expenses of € 195 million in the first nine months of 2018. In the previous year, nine-month results were still dominated by extraordinary income from securities transactions and stood at € 436 million. Figures from the previous year can only be compared to a limited extent due to the introduction of the new IFRS 9 accounting standard. Consolidated profit after taxes stood at € 64 million after the first nine months.

NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank has successfully arranged a project financing for the 475-megawatt Nysäter wind farm project in Sweden of around EUR 375 million. The wind farm project is one of Europe’s largest onshore wind farms and will be built jointly by E.ON and the Swiss in-vestment manager Credit Suisse Energy Infrastructure Partners (CSEIP), an experienced financial investor solely dedicated to the energy sector.

NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank has concluded the Europe-wide bank stress test with a CET1 ratio of 7.07 percent in the adverse scenario. “NORD/LB’s stress-test result is therefore in line with expectations and did not turn up any surprises,” said Thomas Bürkle, Chairman of the Managing Board of NORD/LB. “The result reflects the fact that, as everyone knows, for the last few years we have been hedging risks from the shipping portfolio on a large scale. This was necessary and made sense but naturally it also impacts negatively on the Bank’s capital resources. The result is therefore at the same time clear confirmation of the capital-strengthening course we have embarked on together with our owners and which we are vigorously pursuing. The tender process launched in this context for potential investors is on schedule and looks very promising.”

The NORD/LB Group restructuring is entering the next phase. In November the Bank will initiate a further wave of voluntary staff reductions as part of its One Bank transformation programme. By streamlining internal lending processes and management support functions, some 430 posts are to be eliminated Group-wide by the end of 2020. As a result of the synergy effects achieved through the merger with the former Bremer Landesbank in the first phase that began in 2017, another 420 positions are being cut – primarily at the Bremen and Oldenburg locations.

NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank concluded the first half of 2018 with earnings before taxes and restructuring expenses of € 68 million. In the previous year, the corresponding half-year results were characterised by extraordinary income from securities transactions and stood at € 468 million. However, figures from the previous year can only be compared to a limited extent due to the introduction of the new IFRS 9 accounting standard.

BayWa r.e. renewable energy GmbH (a subsidiary of BayWa AG) and NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank have achieved financial close of a EUR 100m Construction Bridge Financing for Don Rodrigo photovoltaic solar park, located in the municipalities of Utrera and Alcala de Guadaira, near Seville, in Spain, one of the highest solar irradiation areas in the country.

NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank is financing a solar farm in Hiroshima, Japan, for the project developer saferay GmbH, based in Berlin, Germany. The total capital investment is around 15 billion Japanese yen (JPY), equivalent to € 115 million.

NORD/LB executed a joint lead mandate in June for the first time for a syndicated European Union benchmark transaction. Set to mature in April 2033, the bond is targeted at institutional investors and was topped up by EUR 1.1 billion in this transaction. The total volume now stands at EUR 2.1 billion in all.