HSH Nordbank posts Group profit in the third quarter

• Net income before restructuring of EUR 101 million in the first nine months of 2010

• Further reduction of total assets to EUR 162 billion

• Core capital ratio improved to 14.8 percent

Hamburg/Kiel, November 18, 2010 - Business continued to improve for HSH Nordbank in the third quarter of 2010. As a result of the systematic implementation of its strategic realignment, the Bank was able to return to profitability within the period July to September 2010.

After the Bank had posted a EUR 170 million loss before restructuring in the first quarter, it was already able to record a profit of EUR 60 million before restructuring in the second quarter for the first time since the onset of the financial crisis. The Bank achieved a further improvement in the net income before restructuring in the third quarter with a profit of EUR 211 million, so that it could more than compensate the operating losses accumulated earlier in 2010. The net income before restructuring for the first nine months of 2010 was EUR 101 million (compared with a loss in the same period of the previous year of EUR 575 million) and thus significant better than the Bank’s budget. Also, for the first time since the launch of the Bank’s strategic realignment, the Bank recorded beside a positive net income before restructuring additionally a Group profit amounting to EUR 134 million in the third quarter of 2010 (compared with a loss of EUR 254 million in the same quarter of 2009). The figures were boosted by systematic risk management in its credit business.

The Group net loss of EUR 246 million for the first nine months (previous year EUR 873 million loss) also was a significant improvement over the figures anticipated in the budget. The figures also include costs of EUR -393 million for government guarantees (previous year EUR - 286 million), a restructuring charge of EUR -9 million (previous year EUR -79 million) and earnings from income tax amounting to EUR 55 million (previous year: EUR 67 million).

Further progress in the reduction of the total assets was also made in the third quarter. With the continued rundown of risk positions, the Bank achieved a further reduction in its total assets to EUR 162 billion by 30 September 2010 (31 December 2009, EUR 174 billion). This means that the Bank’s total assets decreased by more than 20% since the beginning of the implementation of the strategic realignment. The core capital ratio reached 14.8%, an excellent level when compared with the international competition.

The Chairman of the HSH Nordbank Management Board, Dirk Jens Nonnenmacher, explained that the Management Board had put the right mechanisms in place to stabilise the Bank and had therefore plotted the course towards future success for HSH Nordbank. This course must now be followed unwaveringly to its final destination. “I am convinced that HSH Nordbank will return to profit in 2011“ Nonnenmacher said.

HSH Nordbank will publish its accounts for the third quarter on 30th November 2010.

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