Annual Report Geschäftsbericht 41 42 Contents
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ICF BANK 19 20 ANNUAL REPORT GESCHÄFTSBERICHT 41 _ 42 CONTENTS LETTER FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 43 REPORT OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD 47 MANAGEMENT REPORT 49 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 51 FINANCIAL SITUATION 54 RISK REPORT 55 OUTLOOK AND REPORT ON OPPORTUNITIES 57 FINANCIAL STATEMENT 59 BALANCE SHEET 61 PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT 63 NOTES 65 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT 75 IMPRINT 77 43 _ 44 LETTER FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER LETTER FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER _ REPORT OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD _ MANAGEMENT REPORT _ FINANCIAL STATEMENT _ NOTES DEAR SHAREHOLDERS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, In many respects, financial year 2019/2020 was chequered and dominated by unprecedented challenges. The year 2019 as a whole was marked by fears of recession, Brexit, the trade dispute between the US and China and a contentious tariff policy in transatlantic trade, with the central banks keeping interest rates low due to the signs of a wavering economy. This led to a relatively low level of volatility on the global equities markets although the DAX climbed 25.5% to a record high of 13,249 points in 2019, which had a very positive effect on earnings development at ICF BANK AG. The international equities markets plummeted at unprecedented speeds in the first quarter of 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus and COVID-19 outbreak, which developed into a pandemic and saw lockdowns implemented in almost every corner of the globe. The outcome remains uncertain but the first quarter of 2020 will go down in stock market and economic history. ICF BANK AG leveraged its efficient organi- sational structure to react quickly and judiciously to the market situation. Thanks to a systematic and proactive approach and the outstanding professional skills and motivation of all our staff, ICF BANK AG closed out the 2019/2020 financial year with an exceptionally good result from ordinary activities of EUR 7,897 thousand. Our business development in the 2019/2020 financial year and the first quarter of the 2020/2021 financial year clearly demonstrates that our strategy of "diversifying and promoting core competencies" is not just a key condition for growth and sustainable profits but also offers flexibility and resilience, especially in an unfavourable environment. Continually developing our segments is a prerequisite for us to offer our customers the best possible service. For example, the "Dynamic Best Execution Policy" project, which we completed this past financial year, is now ready to be rolled out to our customers. This new product offering met with positive feedback and won the Company several new customers. The "Internaliser" project is still in the roll-out phase, and we see it as a further pillar in our efforts to expand the range of services. ICF BANK AG was also registered as an official EU Benchmark Administrator with Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and has been included in the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) register since 19 July 2019. Lawmakers passed the Bench- mark Regulation to fully regulate the indices used as reference rates for financial products. Supervised companies may only use indices as benchmarks for their financial products if the benchmark administrator is entered into the ESMA register. Our customers take part in innovative benchmark concepts in observance of high security standards. We also succeeded in penetrating a further segment in the area of Market Making thanks to our many years' expertise and integrity. Since January 2020, we have been the sole lead broker on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange and have established a branch in Düsseldorf to further optimise our process chain. Developing new products and services, winning market share and opening up new markets achieved measurable success in the 2019/2020 financial year that was reflected in our operating result. We are pleased to give you an overview of developments in our three core divisions: Market Making, Brokerage Services and Capital Markets. MARKET MAKING As a specialist on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, ICF BANK AG manages roughly 800 (previous year: 802) stocks, including 114 foreign REITs (real estate investment trusts) in the REITs segment. In addition, there were approximately 9,400 (previous year: approximately 9,550) fixed- income securities. The number of funds on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange managed by ICF BANK AG was approximately 1,350 (previous year: approximately 1,500). ICF BANK AG currently manages some 610,000 (previous year: approximately 660,000) products in the Market Making Derivatives Products segment; the average number of products managed over the year in the Market Making ETP segment was approximately 450 (previous year: approximately 400). On the Quotrix exchange in Düsseldorf, ICF BANK AG manages approximately 4,100 stocks (previous year: approximately 4,100), approxi- mately 8,300 fixed-income bonds (previous year: approximately 6,650), approximately 2,100 funds (previous year: approximately 2,300) and approximately 1,550 ETPs (previous year: approximately 1,500). Since January 2020, ICF BANK AG has been the lead broker on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange, managing approximately 3,300 equities, approximately 9,400 fixed-income bonds, approximately 3,200 funds and approximately 1,500 ETPs. This lays the foundation for healthy growth. 45 _ 46 BROKERAGE SERVICES On the stock exchanges, equities performed well in 2019. Anxiety surrounding the coronavirus at the beginning of 2020 then had a massive impact on the international equities markets. The extraordinary turnover on the markets caused a significant increase in business in the Glo- bal Markets department, which in turn meant that Global Markets could again generate very encouraging overall results in the 2019/2020 financial year. In the Customized Indices segment, financial year 2019/2020 was marked by various upgrades to our proprietary software and hardware. This enabled us to further improve performance and systems scalability, thereby laying the foundation for further growth. The number of indices calculated remained roughly the same, overall. CAPITAL MARKETS ICF BANK AG's capital markets team successfully carried out several transactions – some of which were exceptionally high-volume – in the 2019/2020 financial year through its Equity & Debt Capital Markets and Institutional Sales Equity & Debt departments. A total of eight capital market transactions and several technical mandates were managed. At the same time, the issuance business was stopped in its tracks in Febru- ary 2020 due to the turbulence on the capital and commodities markets in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic; this led to a postponement of planned capital market projects. In Designated Sponsoring, we gained more mandates than we lost in the 2019/2020 financial year. The total number of mandates increased by 3 to 56, as at 31 March 2020. The quality of the mandates managed remained high. At the balance sheet date, one-quarter of the managed companies were included in a Deutsche Börse AG selection index. Currently, 9 mandates from the MDAX, 3 from the SDAX and 2 from the TecDAX are managed. As in previous years, Designated Sponsoring achieved Deutsche Börse AG's best rating (AA) for all mandates under management. All in all, the capital markets team generated very healthy overall results. LETTER FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER _ REPORT OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD _ MANAGEMENT REPORT _ FINANCIAL STATEMENT _ NOTES We can be pleased with the development within our three core divisions. Financial year 2019/2020 was a success, and we either achieved or exceeded our earnings targets in all material operating segments. Thus we reported EUR 1.4 million in net retained earnings for financial year 2019/2020. Due to the higher trading volumes, our net trading portfolio result rose from EUR 3 million to EUR 9.7 million in the financial year ended. Administrative expenses rose by approximately 20% to EUR 3.1 million due to non-recurring factors and one-off HR costs. The result from ordinary activities amounted to EUR 7.9 million as at the end of the year. Two transfers were made to the fund for general banking risks: EUR 384 thousand in accordance with section 340e (4) of the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch, "HGB") and EUR 4,956 thousand in accordance with section 340g (1) HGB. Following a tax expense of EUR 2.6 million, the net income for the financial year amoun- ted to EUR 5 thousand. Regulatory tier 1 capital amounted to EUR 22.5 million. The equity ratio is approximately 57%. The positive earnings trend in the 2019/2020 financial year should enable us to pay out a higher dividend and still reinvest profits in the Company's future growth. Consequently, the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting of ICF BANK that it increase the dividend from EUR 0.04 to EUR 0.15 per outstanding share. Although we can be satisfied with the results for financial year 2019/2020, we know that a lot of work lies ahead. Wide-ranging investments must be made in the Company's technological development to drive forward digitalisation. There must likewise be no let-up in efforts to review and refine our products and services so that we can remain competitive. Staying on our growth trajectory requires realistic ideas. For example, BÖAG Börsen AG acquired the majority of shares of ICF BANK AG at the beginning of the new 2020/2021 financial year. Acqui- ring the majority interest strengthens BÖAG's position as part of the strategic partnership and ICF BANK AG gains a reliable foothold to drive forward sources of growth and earnings in addition to its original focus on securities trading. As the CEO of ICF BANK AG, I again stood for election to various volunteer positions in the past financial year. I was confirmed in my position as a member of the Exchange Council of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and elected for a further three years, and once again assume the position of Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Exchange Council.