---
title: "SSAs and Financials: Weekly Market Update"
url: https://www.helaba.com/en/ssas-and-financials-weekly-market-update-30
type: dd_research
language: en
updated: 2026-09-28
keywords: Renten, Weekly Market Update_englisch
---

# SSAs and Financials: Weekly Market Update

Focus on: SSAs & Financials 9 November 2023 © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 9 November 2023 1 of 8 Research & Advisory Weekly Market Update Primary market environment: Geopolitical uncertainties continue to play a role. In this context, the Fed's Cook warned of economic strains. Other Fed members do not believe that the fight against inflation is over. Activity in the primary markets, particularly in the covered bond seg- ment, has increased significantly. Warning signals have dominated our heat map in recent weeks. These have abated somewhat in the short term. The overall picture remains fraught. Primary market barometer Compared to the previous week, the SSA segment has picked up since Monday. Spreads are still under pres- sure, however, so it is fitting that is- sues from the State of Thuringia and the Austrian Kontrollbank only achieved modest issuance results. The constructive environment prompted a surprisingly large num- ber of issuers to become active in the primary covered bond market this week. A total of 9 issues with a vol- ume of EUR 6.25 billion were placed. Sparebanken Vest Boligkreditt AS stood out with a book oversubscrip- tion of around 3 times. The primary market for senior unse- cured bank bonds has continued to pick up. The market environment is quite constructive, especially as the reporting season, and therefore the blackout period, has largely come to an end. A few more transactions are expected before the window slowly closes towards the end of the year. Covered Bonds Senior Unsecured SSAs Risk trend indicator (heat map): Minimal brightening on the horizon Relative\* ASW spread change \* ASW levels standardized and 2T-smoothed Sources: Refinitiv, Helaba Research & Advisory IBOXX EURO 1 day 1 week 4 week 13 weeks 52 weeks 104 weeks Germany -0,04 0,19 0,49 0,70 1,82 0,95 European Union 0,04 0,22 0,36 1,02 1,47 2,90 Germany Covered 0,00 0,03 0,30 1,11 1,92 2,57 EU Covered -0,01 -0,01 0,17 0,67 1,41 2,36 Banks senior preferred 0,01 0,11 0,27 0,56 -0,28 2,76 Banks senior bail-in (SNP) -0,01 0,03 0,10 0,45 -0,85 2,23 Banks subordinated 0,00 -0,02 0,04 0,41 -0,70 2,60 Supranational 0,04 0,19 0,27 0,88 1,58 2,68 Agencies -0,02 0,17 0,36 0,97 1,91 1,88 Sub-Sovereigns Germany 0,03 0,09 0,09 0,35 0,85 -0,23 Sub-Sovereigns 0,04 0,15 0,24 0,82 1,14 1,24 strong middle weak unchanged weak middle strong spread widening\* spread tightening\* Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 9 November 2023 2 of 8 SSAs The primary market in the SSA segment was opened this week by the State of Thuringia. Only a mod- est amount of issuance was achieved for the state treasury bond (EUR 500 million, 5 years). Agence France Locale (AFL) (tap 3/2030, EUR 250m, WNG), Österreichische Kontrollbank (OKB) (EUR 500m, 5 years, sus- tainability, WNG) and Hungarian Eximbank (EUR 1bn, 5.5 years) followed in the middle of the week. AFL's offer at- tracted sufficient demand (book > EUR 300 million), which was not the case for OKB. According to Bloomberg, de- spite the ESG label, the order book was only EUR 365 million. This result was probably due to pricing. The final spread of the OKB bond was MS +2bps. Today, the State of Bremen increased its June 2028 FRN by EUR 400m (WNG). This brings the new outstanding volume to EUR 650m. Outlook: The last syndicated EU issue is due next week. Looking ahead to next year, the market expects SSA issu- ers to be very active with high volumes. Spreads are likely to remain under pressure or widen further. Our regular readers will be familiar with the adjacent chart on page 7 of our publication. SSA issuance this year is now lower than last year and the difference is even more pronounced in 2021. In our view, the decline compared to the "Corona years" is due to the lack of additional funding needs. Without the European Un- ion's Next Generation Recovery Programme (the pro- gramme totals EUR 750 bn - its largest spending in- strument, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (ARF), accounts for EUR 672.5 bn), the decline would have been even more pronounced. So far this year, around EUR 44 billion of bonds have been issued under the programme. The financing needs of the federal states in 2023 via the primary market amount to around EUR 34 bn, slightly above the previous year's figure of around EUR 32 bn. Compared to 2020 and 2021 and their special programmes - when borrowing amounted to EUR 84 bn and EUR 55 bn respectively - a clear down- ward trend can be observed. The debt limit enshrined in Germany's constitution, which prohibits new government borrowing regardless of the state of the economy, is likely to contribute to this. Issuers are currently becoming more active again. This may not just be due to the approaching end of the year. However, it seems that no issuer wants to rush into something like a very long maturity. In this respect, a "wait and see" approach is prevailing, especially with regard to further data developments. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 3,000% Thüringen - /-/AAA 0,500 bn 15.11.2028 ms -2 Bp 07.11.2023 not disclosed ms -2 3,125% Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG Aa1 /AA+/- 0,500 bn 15.11.2028 ms +2 Bp  08.11.2023 not disclosed ms + 2 area 3,000% Agence France Local Aa3 /AA-/- 0,250 bn  20.03.2030 ms +2 Bp 08.11.2023 0,300 bn FRTRs + 52 area 6,000% Hungarian Export-Import Bank Private Limited Company - /BBB-/BBB 1,000 bn 16.05.2029 ms +2 Bp 08.11.2023 3,000 bn ms + 325 area 3m€+0 Bp Bremen - /-/AAA 0,400 bn  07.06.2028 ms +2 Bp 09.11.2023 0,400 bn 3m€ +0 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € SSAs issues week of 6 November 2023 SSA issue volume in 2023\* below previous years Billion EUR Billion EUR \*as of 11/9/2023 Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 2022 2021 2023 Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 9 November 2023 3 of 8 Covered Bonds Primary market transactions in the covered bond segment are also possible on a Monday, as demon- strated by three deals at the beginning of the week. Deutsche Bank successfully issued a 5-year benchmark (EUR 500m, WNG). The order book was 2.4 times oversubscribed and the issue was priced at MS+26bps versus MS+30bps in the marketing. Erste Group Bank AG generated demand of more than EUR 1bn for a 5.5 year covered bond. The final spread narrowed by 2 bps to MS+40 bps. Given the size of the issue and the pricing chosen, the overall transaction was somewhat more difficult. From Finland, OP Mortgage Bank (EUR 1bn, 3.25 years) completed the issuance round at the beginning of the week. The shortest maturity on the day was re- flected in a spread that was 5bps tighter than the marketing. Three more issuers followed on Tuesday: DNB Boligkreditt (EUR 1.25bn, 5 years), DZ Hyp (EUR 500m, 3.7 years) and Hypo Oberösterreich (EUR 250m, 4 years, green, WNG). All went well, with DZ Bank - the sixth deal this year - and DNB Boligkreditt each thightening their spreads by 4bps over the market, and the books were 2.5 and 1.7 times oversubscribed respectively. For DNB, this was the first deal since May 2021 and only the fifth transaction by a Norwegian issuer this year. As a result, it is likely that investors still had free credit lines available. Hypo Oberö- sterreich's spread remained unchanged in the end. Primary activity continued on Wednesday. ING-Diba (EUR 1bn, 4.25 years, Green), OMA Savings Bank (EUR 500m, 5 years, WNG) and Sparebanken Vest Boligkreditt AS (EUR 500m, 5 years, WNG) took the stage. Sparebanken stood out with around 3x oversubscription of the order book and the spread narrowing by 5bp to a final MS+34bp is also worth mentioning. Overall, two "success factors" emerged: the new issue premiums offered and the maturities selected. The new is- sue premiums ranged from 5 to 10 bps, while the maturities ranged from 3.25 to 5.5 years (average 4.5 years). Outlook: The primary market is constructive at present. Although we expected a rebound in November, the mo- mentum this week has been somewhat surprising. The momentum is likely to continue next week. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 3,375% Deutsche Bank AG Aaa /-/- 0,500 bn 13.03.2029 ms +26 Bp 06.11.2023 1,200 bn ms + 30 area 3,375% OP Mortgage Bank Aaa /AAA/- 1,000 bn 15.02.2027 ms +23 Bp 06.11.2023 1,500 bn ms + 28 area 3,500% Erste Group Bank AG Aaa /-/- 0,750 bn 14.05.2029 ms +40 Bp 06.11.2023 1,000 bn ms + 42 area 3,625% Oberösterreichische Landesbank AG (HYPO Oberösterreich)- /AA+/- 0,250 bn 31.03.2028 ms +50 Bp  07.11.2023 0,335 bn ms + 50 area 3,250% DZ HYP AG Aaa /AAA/- 0,500 bn 30.07.2027 ms +16 Bp 07.11.2023 1,318 bn ms + 20 area 3,375% DNB Boligkreditt AS Aaa /AAA/- 1,250 bn 14.11.2028 ms +30 Bp 07.11.2023 2,050 bn ms + 34 area 3,375% Sparebanken Vest Boligkreditt Aaa /-/- 0,500 bn 15.11.2028 ms +34 Bp 08.11.2023 1,540 bn ms + 39 area 3,250% ING-DiBa AG Aaa /-/AAA 1,000 bn 15.02.2028 ms +22 Bp  08.11.2023 1,300 bn ms + 24 area 3,500% Oma Saastopankki Oyj - /AAA/- 0,500 bn 15.01.2029 ms +49 Bp 08.11.2023 0,600 bn ms + 50 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Covered Bond issues week of 6 November 2023 "The primary market is now taking over. The pent-up project pipeline is moving forward and a large number of new issues have been coming to the market each day so far this week. High new issue premiums in the range of 5-10bps are required to place the transactions with any degree of success. Maturities up to 5 years continue to be the main focus. Overall, swap spreads are trading slightly wider.. “ Comment from the Helaba trading floor Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 9 November 2023 4 of 8 Senior Unsecured The primary market for senior unsecured bank bonds continued to pick up. The number of trans- actions in EUR benchmark format rose from 5 in the previous week to 7 so far this week. Issuers only had to offer comparatively low NIPs to successfully place the issues. Strong credit quality and shorter maturities continue to be in higher demand. Good quarterly results from the institutions, which once again underline the fact that the sector is in very solid shape (see chart of the week), contribute to the favourable market environment.. A number of heavyweights came to the market with issuances this week. On Monday, BNP Paribas issued EUR 1.5bn with a 9-year maturity, JP Morgan Chase EUR 2bn with an 8-year maturity and Bank of Ireland Group EUR 0.75bn with a 6-year maturity - all three issues in non-preferred rank. Swedbank completed the round-up with a EUR 1bn 5-year preferred, followed on Tuesday by UniCredit with EUR 0.75bn, also with preferred rank. Today we see Intesa Sanpaolo and NIBC Bank with shorter maturities. Outlook: The market environment is quite constructive, especially as the reporting season and therefore the blackout period is largely over. A few more transactions can be expected before the window slowly closes to- wards the end of the year. However, the houses have already done a lot of issuance so far this year, and in some cases have already pre-financed. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 4,125% Swedbank AB Aa3 /A+/AA 1,000 bn 13.11.2028 ms +105 Bp 06.11.2023 1,950 bn ms + 130 area 4,600% UniCredit S.p.A. Baa1 /BBB/BBB 0,750 bn 14.02.2030 ms +150 Bp  07.11.2023 1,150 bn ms + 180 area 3m€+80 Bp Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. Baa1 /BBB/BBB 1,750 bn 16.11.2025 ms +80 Bp 09.11.2023 2,300 bn 3m€ +100 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Senior Preferred issues week of 6 November 2023 Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 4,750% BNP Paribas SA Baa1 /A-/A+ 1,500 bn 13.11.2032 ms +160 Bp 06.11.2023 2,250 bn ms + 185 area 4,625% Bank of Ireland Group plc A3 /BBB/BBB+ 0,750 bn 13.11.2029 ms +155 Bp  06.11.2023 3,100 bn ms + 190 area 4,457% JPM Chase & Co A2 /A-/AA- 2,000 bn 13.11.2031 ms +130 Bp 06.11.2023 3,550 bn ms + 155 area 6,000% NIBC Bank N.V. - /BBB-/BBB 0,500 bn 16.11.2028 ms +300 Bp 09.11.2023 1,200 bn ms + 325 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Senior Non-preferred issues week of 6 November 2023 „Investor interest remains largely focused on the cash side. Due to the lively primary market, real money ac- counts mostly acted as sellers of older bonds in favour of newer ones. Fast money accounts also partici- pated in the new issues, but in some cases suffered losses. The less frequent buy requests were concen- trated in maturities of up to 5 years; longer maturities were priced aggressively by traders, with some trades being executed well below mid-price..“ Comment from the Helaba trading floor Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 9 November 2023 5 of 8 Chart of the Week European banks continued to post high profits in the third quarter of 2023, although the strong growth of previous quar- ters began to stabilise. For a se- lection of the large institutions we monitor, the overall result was even slightly lower than in the second quarter of 2023, which was driven by individual banks. Société Générale, for ex- ample, recorded impairments on goodwill and deferred tax as- sets, while BNP Paribas reported comparatively weak fixed in- come and currency revenues and a surprisingly sharp rise in costs. At the same time, most banks increased their provisioning for credit losses, although the overall level re- mained low. Aggregate net interest income of our sample of banks rose slightly by 3% qoq in Q3 2023, and was around 30% higher than in Q3 2022. In our view, interest income is likely to plateau in 2024 at the latest. From a bondholder perspective, the continued support of capital ratios by strong earnings is encouraging, even as many institutions continue their share buyback programmes. The quarterly reporting season has once again underlined that the sector is in very solid shape. (see also our Economic and Capital Markets Outlook to 2024, published earlier today) Short news 11/9 New Covered Bond Label member: The Covered Bond Label Foundation (CBLF) is glad to an- nounce that a new Italian issuer has joined the community. The decision of Banco di Desio e della Brianza SpA makes the Label numbers currently count a total of 134 issuers and 176 cover pools in 24 jurisdic- tions. 11/9 Bi-annual SRB reporting note to Eurogroup: The Single Resolution Board (SRB) published its bi-annual reporting note to Eurogroup. The note aims to report on SRB’s views on CMDI; the lessons learned from the re- cent crisis cases and liquidity in resolution; the resolvability progress of SRB banks; progress made on the resolva- bility of less significant institutions, and SRB Fund activities. 11/9 EU banks take a conservative approach to market risk: As the EU’s fundamental review of the trading book 2025 implementation deadline nears, banks are adopting a conservative market risk stance under the Basel III framework. According to The Banker, lenders are opting for the standardized approach to calculate their capital requirements, avoiding the more complex and resource-intensive internal model approach, even if the standard approach leads to a higher capital charge. 11/9 Bank of Spain warns of risks of extending bank windfall tax: Any potential extension of the current Spanish windfall tax on banks should take into account the preservation of financial stability and correct transmission of monetary policy, Bank of Spain Governor Pablo Hernandez de Cos said as heard by Reuters. 11/8 CDP to align reporting platform with European Sustainability Reporting Standards, and more...: Climate research provider and environmental disclosure platform CDP and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) announced today the launch of a new agreement which will see CDP maximize the alignment of its European banks with sparkling profits Bn. EUR % \* Selection of European banks (Banco Santander, BBVA, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, ING Group, Nordea, Unicredit, SEB, Swedbank) Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 Q1/20 Q2/20 Q3/20 Q4/20 Q1/21 Q2/21 Q3/21 Q4/21 Q1/22 Q2/22 Q3/22 Q4/22 Q1/23 Q2/23 Q3/23 Net profit\* (lhs) Return on Equity\* (rhs) Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 9 November 2023 6 of 8 disclosure system with the EU’s recently adopted European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which un- derpins the EU’s upcoming Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive (CSRD). According to CDP and EFRAG, the new collaboration aims to accelerate the market uptake of the ESRS, helping companies to prepare for the new reporting requirements, and supporting market readiness for the new environ- mental reporting system. (ESGtoday) 11/7 The bank's path toward climate goals: This report provides an overall description of the banking industry's common path towards climate goals. It is primarily based on a survey conducted by the Swedish Bankers' Associa- tion (SBA) to provide examples of the climate work among its members. 11/7 UBS chair on risks of ‘shadow’ banking: The next financial crisis is likely to be in the “shadow” non-bank lending sector, UBS chair Colm Kelleher has warned, saying that the growth of lightly regulated private markets since the 2008 crisis is a “real cause for concern”. 11/6 A conversation with Andrea Enria: The new episode of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) podcast in 5 fea- tures Andrea Enria, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank (ECB). He shares his experi- ence as the main banking supervisor in Europe, some reflections on the lessons learned from the global pandemic and recent banking crises, and thoughts on areas of cooperation between the ECB and the SRB. 11/2 SNB moves CBDC into production on SIX digital exchange: The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is to issue its first real wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) for tests with six commercial banks operating on the distrib- uted ledger platform of SIX Digital Exchange. The pilot, called Helvetia Phase III, marks the first time the central bank has moved from test environments into production. (Finextra) \* Closing prices from the previous day Sources: Refinitiv, Helaba Research & Advisory Market Data (current\*, vs. 1 week, vs. 4 weeks) E-STOXX 600 Banks 156 1,96% -4,52% iBoxx € Cov. Germany 17,9 -0,2 1,6 iTraxx Senior Financial 87,8 -8,0 -8,0 10Yr-Yield 2,61 -0,15 -0,11 iBoxx € Cov. Bonds 30,3 -0,6 1,2 iBoxx € Supranational 25,2 1,2 2,0 Swap 10J 3,11 -0,14 -0,18 iBoxx € Banks PS 92,3 0,9 6,8 iBoxx € Agencies 9,6 0,3 2,6 iBoxx € Germany -35,22 2,08 6,56 iBoxx Banks NPS 120,6 -1,0 3,7 iBoxx € Sub-Sov. Germany 15,1 1,0 0,5 iBoxx € EU 32,92 1,98 3,78 iBoxx Banks Subordinated 206,4 -2,7 2,7 iBoxx € Sub-Sovereign 32,4 0,9 1,9 Leisure tip for the weekend: Schffersgrund Border Museum, Thuringia Do you have ideas for leisure tips? We would be happy to receive your suggestions at research@helaba.de. Source: https:/www.museen.thueringen.de/museum/DE-MUS-442513 The Schifflersgrund Border Museum was opened on 3 October 1991 as the first border museum on the former inner-German border between the states of Hesse and Thuringia. It deals with the history of the border area, focusing on the Wanfried Agreement and the death of Heinz-Josef Große. Special features include the original border fence and numerous original technical exhibits. Find out more: Border Museum Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 9 November 2023 7 of 8 Chartbook SSAs, Covered Bonds, Senior Unsecured Senior Unsecured: Primary volumes Senior Unsecured: Spread development EUR benchmark issue volume cumulative by weeks, bn EUR ASW spread, bp Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 2023 Senior Non-preferred 2023 Senior Preferred 2022 Senior Preferred 2022 Senior Non-preferred 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 11/22 01/23 03/23 05/23 07/23 09/23 11/23 Banks Subordinated Banks Senior Bail-in Banks Senior Preferred Covered Bonds: Primary volumes Covered Bonds: Spread development EUR benchmark issue volume cumulative by weeks, bn EUR ASW spread, bp Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 2023 2022 2021 -2 2 6 10 14 18 22 26 30 -2 2 6 10 14 18 22 26 30 11/22 01/23 03/23 05/23 07/23 09/23 11/23 EUR Covered Covered Germany SSAs: Primary volumes SSAs: Spread development EUR benchmark issue volume cumulative by weeks, bn EUR ASW spread, bp Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 2022 2021 2023 -15 -5 5 15 25 35 -15 -5 5 15 25 35 11/22 01/23 03/23 05/23 07/23 09/23 11/23 Sub-Sovereigns Agencies Supranationals Sub-Sovereigns Germany Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 9 November 2023 8 of 8 News from Research & Advisory  Markets & Trends 2024 – Global economy in a transition game  FOCUS on Credit: ESG ratings: Relevance, regulation and responses  Focus on Credit: Primary Market Update Bank Bonds  Focus on Credit: Corporate Schuldschein: Prejudices are out of place"  Focus on Credit: EUR Corporate bonds - Primary market Q3 2023  Video: Sustainable Finance – ICMA & Helaba Talk 2023  Focus on Credit: Social and sustainability bonds: ICMA Principles - the freestyle ele- ment makes all the difference  European banks: An optimistic outlook for 2023 Team of authors Publisher and editorial office Helaba Research & Advisory Editor: Sabrina Miehs Corporate Research & Advisory Responsible: Dr. Gertrud R. Traud Chefvolkswirtin/ Head of Research & Advisory Neue Mainzer Str. 52-58 60311 Frankfurt am Main T +49 69 / 91 32 – 20 24 Internet: www.helaba.com Disclaimer This publication has been prepared with the greatest care. However, it contains only non-binding analyses and forecasts of current and future market conditions. The information is based on sources which we consider to be reliable, but for whose accuracy, completeness or up-to-dateness we cannot assume any liability. All state- ments made in this publication are for information purposes only. They must not be understood as an offer or recommendation for investment de- cisions. Here you can subscribe to our newsletter: https://news.helaba.de/research/ Dr. Susanne Knips Senior Credit Analyst T 069/91 32-32 11 Sabrina Miehs, CESGA Head of FI & SSA Research Senior Advisor Sustainable Finance T 069/91 32-48 90 Christian Schmidt Covered Bond & SSA Analyst T 069/91 32-23 88

SSA: Modest issuance results in some cases. Covered Bonds: Constructive market environment provides impetus. Senior Unsecured: Heavyweights active. Chart of the Week: European banks with sparkling profits.