Strong profitability and shareholder returns
Return on equity of 16.6% in the quarter; earnings per share NOK 7.65 in Q4 (up ~9.6% vs Q3) and full-year EPS NOK 28.45. Board proposes cash dividend NOK 18/share (up 7.5% YoY); completed 2% buyback and announced additional 0.5% buyback, total payout for 2025 of 86.3%.
Exceptional fee- and transaction-driven revenue growth
Net commission and fees up 40.3% YoY in Q4 (NOK +1.3bn). Investment banking services +101% (Q4); asset management & custodial services +68% (Q4). Wealth management income +41.7% YoY; positive flows and AUM growth (management reported net flow ~NOK 47bn for the year; quarter AUM increase noted ~NOK 88bn).
Market leadership through Carnegie integration
DNB Carnegie reported #1 in number and volume of IPOs across Europe in 2025, #1 in Nordics investment banking and strong positions in ECM, DCM and M&A; integration driving material revenue uplift and cross-selling opportunities.
Solid capital and balance sheet metrics
CET1 ratio 17.9% after proposed dividend and announced 0.5% buyback (160 bps headroom to expected regulatory level); leverage ratio strong at 6.6% — provides capacity for growth and continued shareholder distributions.
Loan and deposit growth across core segments
Group lending growth 4.9% for 2025; deposits up 2.8% for the year. Personal customer deposit growth 7.7% and corporate deposits (personal and corporate segments) showing sticky, valuable balances. Corporate lending growth strong (corporate customers profitable lending growth ~7.7% for year; Corporate Norway +5.2% in the quarter).
Robust credit quality
99.4% of exposure in Stage 1 and 2; no negative migration reported and positive developments in credit quality for large corporates. Quarterly cost of risk reported ~15 bps, with impairments primarily related to specific customer situations.
Cost discipline evidence
Underlying costs flat ex-Carnegie effects; full-year underlying cost growth 2.6% which is below Norwegian core inflation (3.1%). Reported cost/income ratio 39.7% for the quarter, indicating operating leverage from higher activity.
Operational and customer service improvements
Retail process improvements: mortgage application implementation time reduced by 24%; automated business registration and onboarding reduced time by 37%. Montrose awarded best bank in Sweden (after one year) and highest customer satisfaction reported for Sbanken post-integration.