UniCredit Bank Austria AG: Net profit of Bank Austria up by 27.7 per cent to EUR 626 million

Wien (pta012/04.08.2016/10:24 UTC+2) * Growth in lending volume and customer deposits in Austria and in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)
o Lending volume totals EUR 118 billion, an increase of 0.8 per cent over the previous year
o Customer deposits grow by 4.7 per cent to EUR 113 billion compared with the first half of the previous year
* Operating costs down by 2.4 per cent on account of strict cost management
o In Austria, operating costs were reduced by 6.1 per cent compared with the previous year
* Excellent risk management: net write-downs of loans amount to EUR 290 million, down by 26 per cent on the same period of the previous year
* Significant improvement in operating performance: net operating profit up by 26.6 per cent to EUR 1,252 million
* Bank levies and other systemic charges, largely recognised in the first half of 2016 for the full year, rise by 29.8 per cent to a new record level of EUR 227 million
* Profit before tax up by 3.1 per cent to EUR 832 million; without the following effects it would have increased by an additional EUR 73 million or a total of 12.2 per cent:
o Positive effect of EUR 183 million from the sale of the equity interest in Visa-Europe (net, after tax and minorities: EUR 131 million)
o Negative net effect of EUR 204 million resulting from the increase in the provision for the planned transfer of the defined-benefit obligation for active employees to the Austrian state pension system
o Total charge for bank levies and other systemic charges up by EUR 52 million compared with the previous year
* Net profit rises by 27.7 per cent to EUR 626 million
* Total capital ratio at 15.5 per cent, up by 0.6 percentage points on year-end 2015;
Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio2 at 11.7 per cent, also up by 0.6 percentage points
* Excellent direct funding ratio underlines the bank's strong liquidity position
o Loans to customers funded with customer deposits and debt securities in issue to the extent of 118.5 per cent

(end)

Emitter:	UniCredit Bank Austria AG Schottengasse 6-8 1010 Wien Austria
Contact Person:	Günther Stromenger
Phone:	+43 (0)50505-57232
E-Mail:	guenther.stromenger@unicreditgroup.at
Website:	www.bankaustria.at
ISIN(s):	AT0000995006 (Bond) XS0638845700 (Bond)
Stock Exchange(s):	Vienna Stock Exchange (Regulated Open Market); Free Market in Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart
Other Stock Exchanges:	Luxemburg