DGAP-News

comdirect: Half-year pre-tax profit of EUR87.9m - Seite 2

the previous year's level (7.4 million) due to the high volatility,
particularly at the start and end of the half-year. In view of the still
worsened interest environment, net interest income after provisions for
possible loan losses fell 9% below the previous year's figure (EUR69.0m) to
EUR63.0m. The administrative expenses of EUR128.2m fell 8% below the
previous year's figure (EUR138.9m). The decline is due to the active
management of other administrative expenses with a focus on the strategic
orientation and current market environment. The previous year's value
includes significantly higher other administrative expenses, associated, in
particular, with the launch of the "Bank. Re-envisioned." campaign.

The number of customers in the B2C business line (comdirect bank AG) has
increased by 33 thousand to 2.034 million since the start of the year. Over
the same period, the number of custody accounts rose by 28 thousand to 972
thousand and the number of current accounts increased by 44 thousand to
1.310 million. Despite the significant share price decreases, total assets
under custody rose to EUR41.1bn in the first half-year, compared with
EUR39.9bn at the end of 2015. Net fund inflows stood at EUR2.5bn, of which
EUR1.8bn was invested in custody accounts (previous year: EUR0.5bn).
According to Walter, "Our customers are increasingly investing in shares
and securities savings plans and are not leaving their money to languish in
non-interest-bearing accounts. We are very satisfied with this development.
This is precisely the core of our strategy: using innovative and smart
solutions to get our customers excited about investing, saving and trading
with securities." He continued by saying that this would be the focus of
product development. As examples of new products, Walter mentioned the
comdirect trading app, the extended range of shares savings plans and the
bonus savings scheme, with which customers can incidentally invest in ETFs
and thereby in their asset accumulation through online shopping discounts.

At 987 thousand, the number of customers in the B2B business line (ebase
GmbH) in the first six months almost reached the level at the end of 2015
(988 thousand). The closures of custody accounts for capital-building
payments usual in the spring were compensated for by new business. Despite
the fallen level of the share price, total assets under custody rose
slightly to EUR26.1bn (end 2015: EUR25.6bn). Net fund inflows, which were
almost entirely attributable to the portfolio volume, stood at EUR1.8bn.
This is partly due to a new partner who transferred their portfolio volumes