23 February 2023

• ECB profit zero in 2022 (2021: €0.2 billion) after release of €1.6 billion from provision for financial risks
• No profit distribution to euro area national central banks

The European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) audited financial statements for 2022 show that the ECB’s profit was zero (2021: €192 million) and thus there will be no profit distribution to the euro area national central banks (NCBs). This result takes into account a release of €1,627 million from the provision for financial risks to cover losses incurred during the year. These losses mainly arose from the interest expense resulting from the ECB’s net TARGET2 liability and security write-downs in the own funds and US dollar portfolios. After the release, the provision for financial risks declined to €6,566 million.

Net interest income totalled €900 million in 2022 (2021: €1,566 million). The main driver of the decrease compared to the previous year was the interest expense resulting from the ECB’s net TARGET2 liability, which amounted to €2,075 million (2021: €22 million interest income). Interest income earned on the ECB’s share of total euro banknotes in circulation and interest expense paid to the NCBs as remuneration of their claims in respect of foreign reserves transferred to the ECB amounted to €736 million and €201 million respectively (2021: zero for both). These changes resulted from increases in the interest rate on the Eurosystem’s main refinancing…