Nordic Credit Rating (NCR) applies a score of 'a' for the Norwegian banking market. The score reflects the robust domestic operating environment, with a tight labour market and a strong recovery in consumer spending. We expect announced and projected interest rate hikes by the central bank, combined with an increased countercyclical capital buffer from mid-June 2022, to curb any overheating of the economy. We believe that output growth is unlikely to suffer materially from the measures to contain the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. In our view, the global supply chain disruption will be the main factor constraining economic growth in 2022.
"The Norwegian banking market remains stable, and we expect banks' profitability to increase in 2022 following increased interest rate spreads" said NCR credit analyst Gustav Nilsson. "We consider the Norwegian banking market to be more robust than the Swedish market, which we assign one notch lower score ('a-')."
Contacts:
Gustav Nilsson, analyst, +46735420446, gustav.nilsson@nordiccreditrating.com
Geir Kristiansen, analyst, +4790784593, geir.kristiansen@nordiccreditrating.com