Strong profitability and capital
Return on equity of 15.4% in Q1 2026; earnings per share EUR 0.36 (up from EUR 0.35). CET1 ratio 15.7%, 1.9 percentage points above current regulatory requirements.
Robust volume growth across corporate and business segments
Corporate lending increased 11% year-on-year and corporate deposits rose 2%. Business Banking lending and deposit volumes both grew ~8% in local currencies year-on-year. Large Corporates lending up 14% year-on-year.
Household activity and deposits
Mortgage lending up 2% year-on-year; retail deposits increased 5% year-on-year, reflecting higher household savings and investment activity.
Strong asset management and fee performance
Group assets under management up 9% to EUR 464 billion. Asset & Wealth Management AUM up 10% to EUR 185 billion. Net fee and commission income up 6% year-on-year; Private Banking net flows EUR 1 billion; Life & Pension net flows EUR 1.7 billion; gross written premiums EUR 4 billion (from EUR 3.7 billion).
Resilient income and deposit hedge support for NII
Total income only down 2% year-on-year despite policy rate reductions; deposit hedge improved net interest income by EUR 55 million and daily NII moved beyond its trough returning to growth in Q1.
Cost discipline and strategic cost program
Operating expenses flat year-on-year before FX (including FX +2%). Q1 cost-to-income ratio 45.5% (underlying below 45%). Announced restructuring affecting ~1,500 employees to deliver at least EUR 150 million annual savings from 2028 and part of a EUR 600 million gross cost reduction target to 2030.
Very strong credit quality
Net loan losses and similar net result excluding the surplus release amounted to EUR 61 million (6 basis points). Management judgment buffer fully deployed: EUR 116 million reallocated to modeled provisions and EUR 160 million released as surplus, yielding a net reversal of EUR 99 million for the quarter.
Technology and Nordic-scale progress
Launched unified Nordic corporate credit and lending platform; progress on scalable payments platform; digital onboarding launched in Denmark and Norway; Nordic rollout of Business Insights; continued AI pilots to improve customer investment information and development productivity.
Market franchise and transaction leadership
Maintained #1 position for Nordic bonds and Nordic loans year-to-date and arranged over 190 debt capital markets transactions so far this year; secondary equities business income up 11% year-on-year.