These consolidated financial statements for the financial year ended 31 December 2008 were prepared in accordance with the International Financing Reporting Standards (IFRS) and feature comparative figures for 2007 that have been prepared according to the same accounting principles.

The consolidated financial statements of Hypo Group Alpe Adria as of 31 December 2008 were prepared in conformity with Section 245a of the Austrian Enterprise Code (UGB) and Section 59a of the Austrian Banking Act (BWG) according to Regulation (EC) No. 1606 / 2002 of the European Parliament and the Council of 19 July 2002, on the basis of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the International Accounting Standards (IAS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) as well as their interpretations by the Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC) and the International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee (IFRIC).

The consolidated financial statements consist of the income statement, the balance sheet, the changes in statement of equity, the cash flow statement and the notes. As a general rule, segment reporting is contained within the notes, and further explanations are found in the management report. The group management report according to Section 267 of the Austrian Enterprise Code includes the risk report.
The consolidated financial statements are based on separate or partially consolidated financial statements of all fully consolidated companies for the period ended 31 December 2008, prepared in accordance with IFRS. As required by IAS 27, Hypo Group Alpe Adria applies uniform accounting principles throughout the group. The consolidated financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis.

In accordance with IFRS 7, mandatory information relating to the nature and extent of risks arising in connection with financial instruments is provided in the risk report (pages 26–46), which is part of the Group Management Report.

All figures in the consolidated financial statements are expressed in thousands of Euros (EUR ’000). The tables may contain rounding differences.

The consolidated financial statements 2008 are to be approved by the Supervisory Board on 23 April 2009.

The consolidated financial statements for the financial year 2008 are based exclusively on IFRSs / IASs and their interpretations that have been approved for application and published by the European Union as per 31 December 2008.

Apart from the IASB framework, the following IFRSs / IASs are relevant for the Hypo Group
Alpe Adria:

The following standards were not considered, as no transactions of that nature occurred within the Group:

The following IFRIC and SIC interpretations with relevance for the Group were considered:

As from financial year 2009, IFRS 8 (Operating Segments) shall replace the previously applied standard IAS 14 (Segment Reporting). Operating segments are components of a company for which separate financial information is available that is regularly checked by the chief executive of the relevant operating segment (management approach) for the purpose of deciding the allocation of resources and assessing performance. Hypo Group Alpe Adria has elected not to apply IFRS 8 ahead of time. Consequently, there shall be reporting changes in external reporting as from 2009, which will also lead to alignments in reporting of comparable figures for 2008.

As is permitted, the amended IAS 1, IFRS 3 and IAS 27 has also not been applied early.

Important standards that have already been issued, but whose application is not yet compulsory: