Sbanken ASA: Strong lending growth for Sbanken
Bergen, 10 February 2022. The Sbanken group generated a profit before tax of NOK 240.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with NOK 282.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Net interest income decreased by NOK 40.0 million, while net fee and commission income increased by NOK 14.8 million. Return on equity (ROE) was 10.1 per cent in the fourth quarter. Adjusting for excess capital above the 13.0 per cent target and non-recurring expenses and one-off items, ROE for the quarter was 13.4 per cent.
Based on the result for 2021, the board of directors has resolved to propose a dividend of NOK 6.60 per share.
At quarter-end, customer lending totalled NOK 84.7 billion, corresponding to a growth rate of 2.8 per cent from the previous quarter. Mortgage lending increased 2.9 per cent in the quarter, while car loans increased 11.4 per cent. Funds under management increased to NOK 33.1 billion. In 2021 funds under management has increased with NOK 9.9 billion, representing a growth of 42.7 percent more than half was from net client cash flow.
Highlights:
· Strong lending growth – 2.8 percent from the third quarter
· Costs and interest income impacted by ongoing DNB process
· DNB voluntary offer – awaiting final decision from competition tribunal
· Strong capital position – proposed dividend of NOK 6.60 per share
· Robust asset quality – reversing losses
“After reversing the growth trend in the third quarter, this quarter confirms that we have strengthened the growth momentum, with strong growth recorded both for mortgages and car loans. We have reversed some loan losses, a confirmation of the bank’s low-risk lending portfolio. The bottom-line and return-on-equity this quarter is not on a level we are satisfied with. It should be noted that the numbers are impacted by the ongoing transaction process with DNB. This includes direct transaction costs, higher personnel-related costs and a compressed interest margin.
Net interest income decreased to NOK 367.3 (407.3) million. The net interest margin for the quarter was 1.53 per cent, down from 1.60 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020 but up from 1.50 per cent in the previous quarter.
Operating expenses amounted to NOK 194.3 (189.8) million, of which NOK 4.7 million was non-recurring expenses related to the ongoing offer process. Other non-recurring effects were positive with NOK 5.6 million. The cost-to-income ratio was 45.0 per cent. Loan losses were positive in the amount of NOK 2.6 million in the quarter.
On 9 February the Board of Directors decided to propose a dividend of NOK 6.60 per share based on the result for 2021. Taking account of this, Sbanken had a CET1 capital ratio of 15.0 per cent, 2.5 percentage points above the bank’s regulatory requirement of 12.5 per cent.
“With regards to the DNB transaction, we await the final conclusion from the competition tribunal in March. Irrespective of the outcome, our passion to create the future’s best digital customer experiences will remain,” Thomassen added.
The full interim report can also be found on . For APMs, please see the quarterly report for further details.
Contact details,
Investor Relations
Henning Nordgulen, CFO, Sbanken ASA,
Media Contact
Trine Hvamb, Sbanken ASA,
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
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