The assessment basis pursuant to the Austrian Banking Act (banking book ) declined by a total of € 1.6 bn or 2.4% to € 65.6 bn. This decrease resulted from the sale of BA/CA Asset Finance (– € 0.9 bn) and from lower business volume in Austria, which was only partly offset by business growth abroad. Thus the capital requirement was € 0.1 bn lower than at year-end 2002.

In 2003, net capital resources rose by € 1.1 bn or 14.4% to € 8.6 bn. The increase of € 0.5 bn (12%) in Tier 1 capital resulted from the capital increase carried out in July, by which the bank raised € 0.9 bn, and the retention of profits. On the other hand, the acquisition of additional shares in Bank BPH as well as exchange rate effects had a dampening effect. Subordinated capital was included in net capital resources to a greater extent because of the increase in Tier 1 capital.

As the assessment basis declined and capital components increased, the
Tier 1 capital ratio rose from 6.8% to 7.8% and the total capital ratio went up from 11.2% to 13.1%.