Aareal Award of Excellence in Real Estate Research awarded for the third time

Wiesbaden (ots) -

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International prizewinners acclaimed for outstanding work in real
estate economics

Wiesbaden, 26 February 2010 - The Real Estate Management Institute
(REMI) of the European Business School (EBS) and Aareal Bank AG have
awarded the Aareal Award of Excellence in Real Estate Research for
the third time. The annual research prize, advertised
internationally, honours academic excellence in real estate
economics. A total of more than 40 papers were submitted this year.
Almost half the entries came from outside Germany, especially from
Asia, North America, the Netherlands and Italy. The award is worth
EUR12,000. The award ceremony took place on the campus of the
European Business School, EBS, in Oestrich-Winkel at the 11th EBS
Real Estate Congress.

Just under 30 experts, including professors in the national and
international EBS-REMI research network, assessed the work on this
year's topics: "Real Estate Financial Products & Ratings", "Real
Estate Investment Products" and "Real Estate and Demographics". Paavo
Monkkonen of Hongkong/China took the prize in the Ph.D category with
his dissertation on "The housing transition in Mexico: local impacts
of national policy." In the Bachelor/Diploma/Master's thesis category
the prize went to Oliver Lehmann, Germany, for "Return forecasts for
indirect real estate investments - an approach for open-ended real
estate funds." The prize for the third category, Research papers,
went to Thies Lindenthal, Netherlands, for his work on "Demographics,
human capital and the demand for housing."

"As part of Aareal Bank's corporate social responsibility, we have
committed ourselves in particular to investing in knowledge and
education. As an international real estate specialist, we attach
great importance to the work of the REMI at EBS because the Institute
not only promotes up-and-coming property researchers but also global
networking of research, theory and practice", said
Dr Wolf Schumacher, chairman of the Management Board of Aareal Bank
AG.

The head of REMI, Prof Nico Rottke, said: "The fact that both the
candidates and the jury were very cosmopolitan shows that the Aareal
Award of Excellence in Real Estate Research has arrived in the
international research community". He added: "Up-and-coming academic
talents around the world are endeavouring to have their research work
assessed by our international jury and so contribute to advancing and
networking real estate research at the global level. They thus
breathe life into the main idea behind the award."

The REMI at EBS pursues an international, interdisciplinary and
practice-oriented approach, and thus intends to promote further
development and success in the property business. Aareal Bank and
EBS-REMI have been cooperating already since 2006 and particularly on
the REMI chair Aareal Bank has endowed and the Aareal Award
competition. "The real estate sector is well set for the future, as
it has a mixture of academic and hands-on expertise of international
standing. Because the future belongs to specialists who are both
close to their customers and the market as well as to basic research
and its practical insights", said Dr Wolf Schumacher in explicating
the work of both institutions.

Aareal Award 2011 and further information
Competition entries on the topics "Real Estate Finance", "Corporate
Responsibility in the Real Estate Industry" und "Regulatory Framework
and Real Estate Markets" can be submitted for the 2011 Aareal Award
of Excellence in Real Estate Research until 19 November 2010. The
conditions of entry are at www.ebs-remi.de and www.aareal-award.com.
The award ceremony will be held on 25 February 2011. There is also an
Aareal Award blog on the www.aareal-award.com Internet page.

(To editors: photos of the award ceremony are available on
request)

Aareal Bank

Aareal Bank AG is one of the leading international specialist
property banks. The Aareal Bank share is included in Deutsche Börse's
mid-cap MDAX index. The Aareal Bank share is included in Deutsche
Börse's mid-cap MDAX index. Aareal Bank operates on three continents:
leveraging its successful European business model, the bank has
established similar platforms in North America and in the
Asia-Pacific region. It provides property financing solutions in more
than 25 countries.

Real Estate Management Institute

The Real Estate Management Institute (REMI) at the European
Business School (EBS) is one of Germany's leading institutions for
training, continuing education and research in the field of real
estate economics. With its commitment to excellence, free enterprise
and internationalism in research, REMI offers curricula in the theory
of real estate economics with a focus on real estate investments,
financing and valuation. These are complemented by the
interdisciplinary fields of law, tax and economics.

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Contact:
Aareal Bank AG
Corporate Communications

Sven Korndörffer
phone: +49 611 348 2306
sven.korndoerffer@aareal-bank.com

Christian Feldbrügge
phone: +49 611 348 2280
christian.feldbruegge@aareal-bank.com

Investor Relations

Jürgen Junginger
phone: +49 611 348 2636
juergen.junginger@aareal-bank.com