Norwegian mid-size savings banks' loan books have kept pace with the national average loan growth over the last year, according to a report published today by Nordic Credit Rating (NCR). In a sample of 10 mid-size savings banks, weighted lending growth was 4.8% in the year ending 30 Sep. 2023, including mortgage loans transferred to commonly-owned mortgage companies. This is similar to the 4.9% growth of customer lending across the wider banking sector.
"Over the past year, our sample of mid-sized savings banks grew commercial real estate loans more than the national average. Loan growth has been 6% in the wider banking sector, but 9% across the sample ", said NCR credit analyst Christian Yssen. "Recently, companies have increased the proportion of funding they source through traditional banks. This has supported loan growth for the mid-sized savings banks, in which nearly 50% of corporate loans are associated with commercial real estate."
Among our sample, the weighted growth of deposit funding was 4.3% in the year ending 30 Sep. 2023, compared with a decline of 2.2% in deposits placed in the same period by corporates and households nationally. In our view, this suggests that local savings banks have a competitive advantage over larger banks in terms of maintaining organic and stable deposit growth in times of economic flux.
Contacts:
Christian Yssen, analyst, +4740019900, christian.yssen@nordiccreditrating.com
Geir Kristiansen, analyst, +4790784593, geir.kristiansen@nordiccreditrating.com