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Jean-Claude Nobili

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26 August 2011

07.00 a.m.

P re s s re l ea s e

BEKB | BCBE's 2011 interim results

Good result – strong mortgage performance

BEKB | BCBE performed well during the first half of the year 2011. Pre-tax net profit increased by 1.9 per cent to CHF 83.3 million (same period of the previous year:

CHF 81.8 million). Private and corporate banking expanded further. Mortgage loans increased by CHF 308 million. Customer loans were refinanced in their entirety by cus- tomer assets. The asset management volume remained at a stable level. Operating ex- penses are in the target range. BEKB | BCBE continued implementing the policy of funding innovative SMEs, new companies and successor arrangements with the result that 34 companies were financed during the first half of the year. In light of the bank’s positive performance in 2010, BEKB | BCBE's annual General Meeting of Shareholders of May 17 of this year approved the fourteenth increase in dividend in a row and a divi- dend distribution of CHF 5.10 per share (previous year: CHF 4.80).

Also in the first semester 2011, one of the main focuses of BEKB | BCBE’s lending activities were private individuals and SMEs in the Espace Mittelland. Overall lending increased to CHF 18.3 billion. Mortgage loans increased 2.0 per cent to CHF 15.9 billion. The low interest rate level led to a growing demand for fixed-interest mortgages; the proportion of fixed- interest mortgages to the total mortgage portfolio has increased to 85.1 per cent by the middle of the year. In granting loans, the bank checks to ensure that customers have the financial ca-

pability to pay the interest rates even if those stabilize at a higher level. BEKB | BCBE

Berner Kantonalbank AG / Banque Cantonale Bernoise SA

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thereby uses a calculatory interest rate of 5 per cent. Due to the high customer liquidity, in- creasing property prices and extremely low short and long-term interest rates, BEKB | BCBE requires at least 20 per cent equity capital from its customers for mortgage financing (exclud- ing pension fund savings). Since May 2011, BEKB | BCBE has been offering a green mort- gage for energy-saving refurbishments and a corresponding service package in collaboration with different partners (more information on www.bekb.ch/umwelthypotheken).

BEKB | BCBE is committed to supporting innovative SMEs and new companies on the ba- sis of a three pillar approach: financing new companies and enterprise growth, financing suc- cessor arrangements, and seed financing. Financing for new companies and growth is subject to a CHF 175 million threshold of which CHF 102.2 million were granted by midyear. The credit line for succession financing is CHF 50 million of which CHF 33.0 million were granted. An additional CHF 24.2 million in total were approved for companies in all regions during the first half of the year 2011, which resulted in the creation or maintenance of 498

jobs.

BEKB | BCBE has a sound financial structure. Client funds in the strict sense of the term (saving deposits, medium term notes and other liabilities towards customers) increased during the first half of the year by 0.9 per cent to CHF 19.8 billion, and customer liquidity also re- mained at a high level. The balance sheet total as of the end of the first semester 2011 was CHF 24.7 billion, i.e. 1.6 per cent above the value at the beginning of the year. The equity ratio was 7.6 per cent as measured against the balance sheet total (BIS tier 1 ratio of 18.0 per cent in accordance with the Swiss standard rate). Including the reserves for default risks BEKB | BCBE's risk prevention makes up more than 10 per cent of the balance sheet total.

Income statement: Due to higher volumes, good refinancing, low interest-rate levels and a positive result from the deployed interest rate swaps, interest operations generated CHF 185.1 million of revenue in the first half of the year, which was 2.5 per cent higher than in the same period last year. Commission earnings amounted to CHF 41.4 million, which is about 5.0 per cent lower than in the same period of the previous year. The number of customer investment accounts was over 100,000. Assets under management amounted to CHF 20.2 billion by mid- year. Earnings on trading transactions increased by 2.6 per cent to CHF 11.5 million and are therefore above the result of the same period of the previous year. Operating expenses in- creased by 4.8 per cent due to higher personnel and IT costs and increased marketing activi- ties. In terms of the proportion to the operating income, they remained within the 50 to 55 per

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cent target range. General banking risk reserve endowments totalling CHF 25 million were charged to the extraordinary expenses account.

In its capacity as a training bank, BEKB | BCBE is strongly committed to encouraging young talent. The bank trains approximately a quarter of all banking-sector trainees in the canton of Bern. In the current year, 36 apprentices successfully completed their basic training at BEKB | BCBE. On 2 August, 36 young people started their first year of training. The bank trains about 100 apprentices at the moment.

This year’s General Meeting of Stockholders of 17 May decided to increase the sharehold- ers’ dividend for the fourteenth successive time, in this case from CHF 4.80 to CHF 5.10 per share. With over 64,000 stockholders, BEKB | BCBE is among the top ten Swiss companies in terms of the breadth of its shareholder base. The canton's share of the share capital is 51.5 per cent. The financial consolidation for the canton is considerable. Since BEKB | BCBE turned into a private corporation in1998, the canton of Bern received over CHF 1 billion in the form of reimbursed endowment capital, placement of shares, nominal value repayments and the sale of subscription rights, dividends and taxes.

After taxes, profit for the first half of the year was up 2.1 per cent to CHF 59.2 million (same period of the previous year: CHF 58.0 million). Pre-tax net profit (which is comparable with other cantonal banks) amounted to CHF 83.3 million, which was 1.9 per cent higher than in the preceding year.

Omission of the consolidated financial statements

On 1 May 2010, BEKB | BCBE's IT stopped being outsourced to its own subsidiary. By hand- ing over IT services to a third-party company, the Hewlett Packard (Switzerland) GmbH, which operates the HP Banking Service Center in Bern, the conditions for a consolidation do not apply. RTC Real-Time Center AG does not operate anymore. BEKB | BCBE does not control any other major subsidiaries. Therefore the consolidated financial statements are omit- ted.