By Greta Rosen Fondahn
(Reuters) -Norway’s largest bank DNB reported a bigger-than-expected rise in its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday boosted by growing lending volumes, sending its shares more than 4% higher in early trading.
“There has been a clear shift in customer behaviour through the summer and into the autumn,” CEO Kjerstin Braathen said in a statement, though she added competition in the Norwegian banking sector remained fierce.
Lending volumes increased in all three of DNB’s customer segments during the quarter from July to September, it said.
Quarterly net profit soared 19.9% from a year earlier to 12.16 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.12 billion), while analysts were expecting an around 4% rise to 10.56 billion crowns on average, a poll compiled by the bank showed.
“3Q24 results were strong across the board with core earnings, trading income, costs and cost of risk all coming in better than expected,” J.P.Morgan analysts said in a note to clients.
Europe’s biggest banks are healthier than at any point since the financial crisis, but investors are seeking reassurance that they can trust their longer-term earnings power as interest rates fall.
DNB said on Monday it would buy Swedish investment bank and asset manager Carnegie for around 12 billion Swedish crowns ($1.14 billion), a deal it said would enhance its presence in the Nordic region and increase its fee-based income.
DNB’s net interest income, a key metric measuring banks’ income from lending and deposits, rose 2.6% to 16.13 billion Norwegian crowns in the third quarter. Analysts had expected 15.90 billion crowns on average.
High interest rates have boosted Nordic banks’ profits over the past two years. Other central banks in the region have already started to ease their monetary policy, with Norway expected to follow next year.
($1 = 10.9295 Norwegian crowns)
($1 = 10.5325 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Greta Rosen Fondahn in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)
