Aareal boosts profits with WestImmo acquisition

Aareal Bank’s structured property financing division has reported a 238% increase in operating profit to €240m but a 25% decrease in newly-originated loans to €1.2bn for Q2 2015. The operating profit includes the non-recurring €154m negative goodwill from the acquisition of rival property lender WestImmo, which Aareal bought for €350m in June. Negative goodwill is reported as a gain occurring when the price paid for an acquisition is less than the value of its assets.