Clearstream’s €129 million payment to settle proceedings brought by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) contributed to a significant year-on-year increase in its parent group’s operating costs in 2013.
Deutsche Börse’s preliminary results showed operating costs amounting to €1.18 billion in the year under review (2012: €958.6 million) due to exceptional items. These exceptional items of €215.2 million (2012: €36.2 million) comprised costs of €86.2 million, primarily for efficiency programs, and an amount of €129 million to settle the OFAC proceedings. Of this amount, €111.2 million (US$151.9 million) was attributable to the settlement payment and €17.8 million mainly to legal costs. Adjusted for these one-off effects, costs increased by 5% to €967.6 million (2012: €922.4 million), and were thus in line with the Group’s forecast of a moderate increase in operating costs.
Clearstream’s net revenue for Q4 2013 was €169.5 million, compared to €155.2 million for the same period in 2012. This compares with revenues of €653.9 million in 2013, compared to €649.9 million in 2012. The ICSD’s earnings for the fourth quarter of 2013, adjusted for the exceptional item above, were €78.7 million, compared to €70.3 million for the same period in 2012. Full year earnings were €319.1 million in 2013, compared to €323.6 million in 2012.
Clearstream OFAC Settlement Weighs on Parent’s Results
Clearstream’s €129 million payment to settle proceedings brought by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) contributed to a significant year-on-year increase in its parent group’s operating costs in 2013.