BV gjorde gældende, at udbetalingerne blev foretaget af LBB til IBB, som selv blev drevet som afdeling under LBB, og at den aftalte rentesats på 0,25 % lå langt under de normale satser på markedet, hvad der f.eks. fremgik af beslutning 2000/392/EF (WestLB) og 95/547/EF og 98/490/EF (Crédit Lyonnais), hvor man var gået ud fra en forventet egenkapitalforrentning på mindst 12 %.
Payments were made by LBB to IBB, which was itself managed as a division of LBB; moreover, the agreed interest rate of 0,25 % lay well below the normal market rates, as illustrated by Decisions 2000/392/EC (WestLB), 95/547/EC and 98/490/EC (Crédit Lyonnais), where a likely return on capital of at least 12 % was taken as a basis.