On 21 February, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) approved the audited Annual Accounts of the ECB for the year ending 31 December 2012. The Governing Council decided to transfer as at 31 December 2012 an amount of €1,166 million to the risk provision, which increased it to the level of its present ceiling of €7,529 million. As a result of the transfer to the risk provision, the ECB’s net profit for 2012 was €998 million (2011: €728 million).

The audited Annual Accounts of the ECB for the year ending 31 December 2012 were approved by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB earned a surplus of €2,164 million in 2012, compared with a surplus of €1,894 million in 2011. The Governing Council decided to transfer as at 31 December 2012 an amount of €1,166 million to the risk provision, which increased it to the level of its present ceiling of €7,529 million. In June 2012, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published a report that showed a strong demarcation between the management of financial and operational risks in the European Central Bank (ECB).

The ECB’s net profit for 2012 was €998 million (2011: €728 million). Following a decision by the Governing Council, an interim profit distribution, amounting to €575 million, was made to the euro area national central banks (NCBs) on 31 January 2013. The Governing Council decided on the 21 February meeting to distribute the remainder, amounting to €423 million, to the euro area NCBs on 25 February 2013. On the other hand, net interest income totalled €2,289 million in 2012 (2011: €1,999 million).

Realised gains arising from financial operations amounted to €319 million (2011: €472 million). In addition, write-downs amounted to €4 million in 2012 (2011: €157 million). The ECB’s administrative expenses consist of staff costs and all other administrative expenses. Staff costs rose marginally to €219 million in 2012 (2011: €216 million). Other administrative expenses, comprising rental of premises, professional fees and other goods and services, amounted to €242 million in 2012 (2011: €226 million) and included depreciation charges on fixed assets amounting to €13 million.