(a) the average solvency ratio and the solvency ratio of the plan are 1.0 or more, the aggregate face value of the letters of credit may be reduced by the lesser of

In the market as a whole, i.e. private and public banks in Germany, solvency ratios ranged between 6,3 % and 7,3 % (core‐capital ratio) and between 10,4 % and 11,3 % (own‐funds ratio), partly because of the absence of guarantor liability in private banking.

(61) On 30 June 1993, when German credit institutions had to comply with the new capital requirements set by the Own Funds Directive and the Solvency Ratio Directive, the group's solvency ratio (including Wfa's capital requirements), calculated on the basis of the new provisions, was [...] %, i.e. [...] percentage points above the minimum level (The original own funds accounted for [...] percentage points, additional own funds for [...] percentage points.) Excluding Wfa's capital contribution and its risk-adjusted assets, the group would have had a solvency ratio of about [...] % as at 30 June 1993.

(32) Under Council Directive 89/647/EEC on a solvency ratio for credit institutions(8) (Solvency Ratio Directive) and under the Own Funds Directive, banks must have own funds equivalent to at least 8 %(9) of their risk-adjusted assets and risk-bearing off-balance-sheet transactions(10).

Secondly, without Wfa's transfer, the WestLB group would have satisfied the minimum solvency ratio under the Solvency Ratio Directive only by reducing its risk-adjusted assets or by mobilising other sources of own funds (e.g. disclosure of hidden reserves).

The proposed solvency ratio relates the own funds of a credit institution (the numerator of the ratio) to its total assets and off-balance sheet liabilities, adjusted to reflect differing degrees of risk (the denominator of the ratio).