The Annual Report includes the ESM’s financial statements for 2014, which were approved by the Board of Governors. The ESM’s net result of nearly €444 million was allocated to its Reserve Fund, which serves as a buffer in case of potential losses. The year 2014 confirmed the positive impact of the EFSF/ESM financial assistance programmes. After Ireland and Spain, Portugal successfully exited its financial assistance programme in May 2014. Funding costs improved markedly and these countries decided to anticipate the repayment of parts of their loans to the IMF and, in the case of Spain, to the ESM. Cyprus and Greece remain with active programmes. The ESM has a remaining lending capacity of over €450 billion, which allows it to fulfil its mandate of guaranteeing the financial stability of the euro area as a whole and of its Member States.