ANNUAL REPORT 2008 - Polymer Bank Notes of the World

Net realised gains arising from financialoperations decreased from €779 million in 2007to €662 million in 2008, due mainly to the lowervolume of gold sold in accordance with theCentral Bank Gold Agreement, which came intoeffect on 27 September 2004 and of which theECB is a signatory. The resulting lower realisedgains from these operations were only partiallyoffset by higher net realised gains from securitysales in 2008, following the drop in US interestrates in that year.Total administrative expenses of the ECB,including depreciation, increased from€385 million in 2007 to €388 million in 2008.INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICEMANAGEMENTIn 2008, the ECB was the first central bankto receive certification of compliance withinternational standard ISO/IEC 20000 forexcellence in IT service management (ITSM).ISO/IEC 20000 describes an integrated set ofmanagement processes for the effective deliveryof IT services to the business and its customers.Its application was a major contribution to thedelivery of IT services at the ECB and it hasalready resulted in measurable benefits andhigher end-user satisfaction.CHANGE TO THE CAPITAL OF THE ECBPursuant to Council Decisions 2007/503/ECand 2007/504/EC of 10 July 2007, Cyprusand Malta adopted the single currency on1 January 2008. Consequently, in accordancewith Article 49.1 of the Statute of the ESCB,the Central Bank of Cyprus and the CentralBank of Malta paid up the remainder of theircapital subscription to the ECB as of thatdate. As a result of these payments, the ECB’spaid-up capital increased from €4,127 millionon 31 December 2007 to €4,137 million on1 January 2008.5 OTHER ISSUESENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESOn the basis of the ECB’s “EnvironmentalPolicy Framework”, adopted at the end of2007, an inventory of environmental aspects ofthe ECB’s administration and a first estimateof its ecological impact were prepared in2008. The ECB has also decided to establishan environmental management system that iscompliant with the internationally recognisedstandards ISO 14001 and EMAS. A projecthas been launched to obtain certification of thebank’s environmental management system in2010, and some measures were successfullyimplemented in 2008.ECBAnnual Report2008215