Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (WestLB), posted a 3.5% increase in half year net profit, but was hurt by declines in trading and commission income due to market conditions.

WestLB's net profit for the banking group in the fist six months of this year was €385.4m ($351m), up from €372.3m for the same period last year. However operating profit slipped 12% from €436.2m to €385.4m due to falls in net trading and commission income.