The bank had been predicted to post extra legal provisions of some €772m - a sum which would have pushed the bank into loss. But it has recorded a net profit of €441m for Q4 2014, saying that there is 'considerable uncertainty' about the scale and timing of what other legal provisions will be needed in future. 

Consumer loan contracts

Stefan Krause, head of strategy and chief financial officer, said: 'Some of the material cases could not be closed . . . we did not take as many provisions as we planned.' The business is under investigation for a range of issues including alleged Libor and forex fixing. There are also new issues arising about claims over some consumer loan contracts. Mr Krause also spoke of the 'tapering off' of large litigation costs over the next couple of years. Souce: Financial Times