Nordic Credit Rating (NCR) said today that Nordic consumer banks presented mixed results for the first quarter of 2021. Risk-adjusted earnings and net interest margins continued to decline quarter on quarter for most of the banks in NCR's sample. In addition, the latest quarterly results revealed modest declines in loan loss provisions.
Loan growth was positive for most banks, albeit primarily associated with lenders' mortgage and commercial real estate exposures and non-Nordic lending.
"Some banks indicate that consumer activity and consumer loan and card volumes improved towards the end of the quarter, signalling the potential for further improvements for the rest of 2021," said NCR credit analyst Sean Cotten.
Nordic Credit Rating expects margin pressure on consumer loans to continue as banks actively seek growth opportunities and expects banks to release some of the manual loss reserves put in place at the start of the pandemic, supporting profits and capital levels as volumes increase.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Sean Cotten, chief rating officer, +46735600337, sean.cotten@nordiccreditrating.com
Geir Kristiansen, credit rating analyst, +4790784593, geir.kristiansen@nordiccreditrating.com