Reorganization to accelerate profitable growth 

In autumn 2004, we streamlined responsibilities in the GEC. We introduced a regional management structure, in order to strengthen the weighting of the regions and further improve performance for customers in a changing environment. The formation of the Management Committee Germany reflects the important role of our home market and facilitates cooperation across different product units for the benefit of our customers. Additionally, we initiated an efficiency and investment programme, which is scheduled for completion at the beginning of 2006, to further improve both workflows inside the bank and our cross-product service for customers.