Nordea, the largest financial services group in the Nordic and Baltic region, reported LTL 27 million unaudited profit before tax – an increase of 16.4% compared to LTL 23.2 million profit posted in the same period last year. In the first half of 2014 the gross margin totalled LTL 85.4 million or an increase of 21.9% year-on-year.
According to Inga Skisaker, the Head of Banking Baltic Countries at Nordea, during the last half-year, an increasing number of clients chose Nordea as their home bank, a tendency evidenced by the fast-growing income from everyday banking services. In addition, half-year results were positively impacted by sustainable economic growth in Lithuania, ensuring steady domestic consumption growth.
"It is clear that both household and corporate clients are now more cautious about their financial health and more aware about saving," Ms Skisaker observes. The head of the bank says such trends emerge from ongoing quarterly increases in checking accounts and deposits. In the past half-year, the corresponding accounts rose 15.6% compared to the same period last year and totalled LTL 3.4 billion. The increase in private client funds accounted for 6.0% compared to a rise of 19.0% in corporate accounts.
The total loan and lease portfolio remained relatively unchanged during the first half of 2014 compared to the same period in the preceding year with a drop of only 0.3%. The corporate loan and lease portfolio grew by 0.4% while the household loan portfolio showed a decline of 1.4%. The new loan portfolio was on the increase, with a remarkable improvement in the housing loan sector. Compared to H1 2013, loan volumes rose more than three-fold, from LTL 37.0 million to LTL 121.0 million.
In general, Inga Skisaker attributes the growth in new loans to the healthy development of the real estate market, including the higher availability of new construction projects, an increase in real household income, and a record-low benchmark interest rate.
Nordea has achieved consistent growth across all main banking operation activities since 2007. Nordea financial services group is one of the few European banks to have retained its strong AA- credit rating from the leading agencies (Moody's and S&P). For two consecutive years, Nordea has been honoured by the international financial magazine Euromoney as the best bank in the Nordic and Baltic region. Nordea remains the best investment bank in the region, too.
This report is based on management accounting data.
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