This area includes all those activities not included in the business areas. These are basically the costs of the headquarters with strictly corporate functions, certain allocations to provisions such as early retirements and others of a corporate nature. The area also includes the assets and liabilities derived from the management of structural liquidity, interest-rate and exchange-rate risks by the Assets and Liabilities Management unit, as well as their impact on earnings that are not recognized in the business areas via transfer pricing. Finally, it includes portfolios and assets, together with their results, whose management is not linked to customer relations, such as Holdings in Industrial and Financial Companies and Real Estate Management.
In 2011, gross income was a negative €27m, compared with a positive €932m in 2010. This evolution is mainly due to two factors: first, a lower net interest income, basically due to the increased cost of wholesale funding; and second, NTI below that of last year as a result of the lack of earnings from portfolio sales and the loss of asset value caused by the turbulent market situation. Other income/expenses basically includes the dividend from Telefonica. Operating expenses amounted to €960m, as a result of investments made at corporate level, mainly in staff training, technology, brand and infrastructures. As a result, the operating income was a negative €987m (+€158m in the same period last year).
Impairment losses on financial assets totaled €392m and their evolution is parallel to changes in NTI, in other words additional provisions are made according to the level of NTI revenue. Furthermore, the increase in provisions (net) and other gains/losses stood at a negative €1,050m, which is due primarily to greater provisions for real estate and foreclosed assets. As a result, the accumulated net attributable profit for 2011 was –€1,413m (–€1,072m in 2010).