Statement by Hilmar Kopper, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HSH Nordbank

Hamburg/Kiel, October 14, 2009 - Statement with respect to the allegations made about the "Omega" transactions executed in 2007.

I would like to make the following statement:

"Omega" refers to two transactions dating from the year 2007. The transactions in question clearly illustrate that the Bank’s risk-management and monitoring systems at the time were insufficient and inappropriate.

The considerable impairments resulting from the transactions were absorbed in the 2008 annual financial statements and documented in the corresponding annual report. In the course of the extension of the audit of the 2008 financial statements an comprehensive investigation was carried out to establish whether similar incidents had occurred. In the wake of an investigation of all transactions at all locations, we were able to rule out a similar incident.

Both "Omega" transactions are included in the investigation with which the Supervisory Board of HSH Nordbank commissioned law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The law firm confirmed that the Management Board’s decision on Omega 52 was taken before Dirk Jens Nonnenmacher joined this executive body.

Omega 55 was approved by the members of the Management Board responsible for the market and countersigned by Mr. Nonnenmacher jointly with the remaining members of the Management Board. At the time, in his function as CFO, Mr. Nonnenmacher was not directly responsible for the lending business. The firm of auditors KPMG confirmed that this was in fact the case.

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board thus considers his unrestricted trust and confidence in CEO Dirk Jens Nonnenmacher to have been substantiated.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was asked to submit an interim report by the end of the month. The Bank’s Supervisory Board will then be in a position to carry out an extensive evaluation of the Management Board’s work over the past few years.

Hilmar Kopper, Chairman of the Supervisory Board