Paradigm shift in saving and historically high capitalisation

DNB’s profit for the first quarter of 2021 was NOK 5 885 million, which is NOK 1 884 million higher than in the corresponding period of 2020. The bank is experiencing an explosive growth in the savings area, and DNB’s financial position has never been stronger.

The market for savings products, shares and mutual funds reached historically high levels in the quarter, and DNB now has record volumes under management, with strong deposit growth in all customer segments. The Norwegian economy continued to recover in the first quarter, and the authorities’ zero-interest-rate policy has contributed to increasing the liquidity of Norwegian companies and households.

“We’re seeing a paradigm shift in the savings area. DNB has sold more mutual funds this quarter than ever before. During the period, we have also seen great interest in investing in sustainable alternatives. We have recently strengthened our commitment to offering ESG funds, and soon we will be launching DNB Klima Indeks, a mutual fund that, to the best of our knowledge, is the very first in Norway to be fully aligned with the Paris Agreement,” says CEO Kjerstin Braathen.

Personal customers’ net subscriptions to mutual funds through DNB’s own channels reached an unprecedented NOK 6.9 billion in the first quarter. At the same time, the personal customers segment saw an explosive growth in savings agreements, with the number of agreements exceeding 500 000 in total. DNB also set new records for digital sales in the quarter, reaching 250 000 users of the Spare app, which now accounts for 30 per cent of the bank’s sales of mutual funds.

High activity in all segments

The low interest rate level continues to affect banks’ interest income. Net interest income in the first quarter was NOK 9 230 million, which is NOK 1 166 million, or 11.2 per cent, lower than in the corresponding quarter of 2020. The decline in interest income can mainly be attributed to last year’s interest rate reductions and a stronger Norwegian krone.

Considerable activity relating to capital raising and management has generated a healthy income for the bank. Net commission and fee income increased by NOK 394 million, or 17.6 per cent, compared with the first quarter of 2020. A high level of activity in the housing market resulted in good income for real estate brokerage and solid growth in lending to personal customers.

“Although some industries and regions are still affected by the infection control measures, it is gratifying to see that the authorities’ plan for the reopening of society is generating increased activity and optimism, among both businesses and the population as a whole. The lending growth in the SME market continued in the first quarter, with an increase of 2.3 per cent. At the same time, our start-up advisers saw a significant growth in the number of startups. This says something about the strong restructuring power inherent in the Norwegian business community,” says Braathen.

Strong capitalisation and net reversals

Earnings per share (EPS) were NOK 3.65 in the first quarter, compared with NOK 2.28 in the first quarter of 2020 and NOK 3.28 in the fourth quarter of 2020. DNB’s financial position has never been stronger, with a common equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio of 19.2 per cent.

The bank had net reversals on impairment provisions of NOK 110 million in the first quarter. This is an improvement compared with both the previous quarter and the first quarter of last year, which saw net impairment provisions of NOK 1 250 million and NOK 5 771 million, respectively.
 

Financial key figures for the first quarter of 2021 (figures for the corresponding quarter in 2020):

• Pre-tax operating profit before impairment amounted to NOK 7.5 billion (10.1)

• Profit for the quarter was NOK 5.9 billion (4.0)
• Earnings per share were NOK 3.65 kroner (2.28)
• Return on equity was 10.0 per cent (6.5)
• Cost/income ratio was 43.6 per cent (35.3)
• Common equity Tier 1 (CET 1) capital ratio was 19.2 per cent (17.7)

Further details on DNB’s results can be found on ir.dnb.no.

For further information:  

Rune Helland, Head of Investor Relations, tel.: (+47) 23 26 84 00 / 97 71 32 50  

Thomas Midteide, Group Executive Vice President of Communications & Sustainability, tel.: (+47) 96 23 20 17  

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Securities Trading Act.