Cologne, 15 March 2005

Dear Clients, Business Friends and Shareholders,

Looking back on the success of financial year 2004 is extremely difficult for me in view of the sudden and tragic death of the Bank’s father figure, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and of the Shareholders’ Committee, Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheim.

All commercial success pales in comparison with the sense of loss, and the gaping hole that has been left in the banking family.

Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheim will be particularly missed by the bank in terms of his perceptive talent and business acumen, which enabled him not only to identify opportunities in amongst all the risks inherent to our business, but also to exploit them. A fitting example of these qualities is provided by the acquisition of a 25.1% stake in IVG and the purchase of BHF-BANK, which was completed at the turn of the year. While many competitors are responding to the sustained wave of consolidation in the German banking sector with cost cuts, including mass staff dismissals, Sal. Oppenheim has bucked this trend, opting instead to invest in the future. Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheim’s business dealings were characterised not by short-term profit maximisation, but by the pursuit of long-term entrepreneurial objectives, values and principles. Under his leadership, we at the bank never had a problem in implementing the appropriate strategies quickly and efficiently. We have never taken decisions relating to business and staff policy lightly. Once a decision was taken, however, it was always implemented without delay – whereby our focus always remained firmly fixed on the well-being, stability and independence of the Company, and on the interests of our clients.

Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheim leaves us a banking group with total assets of around € 25 billion, following the consolidation of BHF-BANK at the beginning of the year, a healthy equity ratio and a workforce of more than 3,000. Sal. Oppenheim is now the largest independent private banking group in Europe. Total assets under management with BHF-BANK will amount to more than € 100 billion. The transaction represents the union of two solid partners. Two strong banks will continue to provide their clients with exceptional and reliable service of the high quality that has become customary, as well as offering an enhanced product range.

Ultimately, the acquisition of BHF-BANK has expanded Sal. Oppenheim’s earnings base, giving it a long-term boost. Particularly in times of economic change, clients tend to opt for reliable partners when it comes to securing and conserving their assets, a role which we, with two independent banks, Sal. Oppenheim and BHF-BANK, are now in a position to play. With our successful financial advisory services and proven business model, we offer clients precisely this security and reliability.

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In 2004, our 216th year of business, Sal. Oppenheim generated pre-tax net income of around € 157 million, a result to which all divisions and subsidiaries contributed, and of which, given the circumstances, we can be very proud.

At this point I would like to convey my thanks to our motivated and highly-qualified employees, as well as to their dedication and business judgement, which we unremittingly endeavour to cultivate. They play a key role in the success of the bank, and thus in relentlessly underpinning our independence. In the future, we shall continue to build on common values, which fuse tradition and innovation to the benefit of our clients.

Family, friends, business partners and staff at Sal. Oppenheim paid their last respects to Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheim in January. He was an icon for our profession, embodying the Bank’s style and character as no other. In representing the Bank’s sixth generation as trustee, he also sustained another tradition, and one which we would like to make a particular feature of this annual report: patronage and endowments

Sal. Oppenheim’s involvement in supporting charitable foundations and the promotion of art, education and culture is far-reaching. This report aims to give you an insight into this work and invites you to explore some fascinating projects, ranging from the traditional family passion for Cologne Cathedral, as well as for the city itself, to the Bank’s support for public welfare services and the promotion of education, scholarship and research, right through to art and culture, which acts as a link between cultures and a key player in the process of international understanding.

We are pleased to provide active assistance in the planning, set-up and the long-term support of foundations. The following pages demonstrate how assets can be invested wisely, and how the name of the benefactor can be upheld in the long term in conjunction with a good deed.

In order to secure the Bank’s future, we are systematically pursuing a strategy which targets a sustained increase in return on equity, founded in profitable growth. Generating a reasonable return on invested assets, however, is no end in itself, rather it serves primarily to reinforce the Bank’s position by further enhancing our equity base and thus securing our independence.

We would like to continue to build on our achievements to date, and look forward to accompanying you down the path of commercial fortune, which will lead Sal. Oppenheim into an equally rosy future.

Yours faithfully,

Matthias Graf von Krockow

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