OREANDA-NEWS. November 08, 2011. Net profit: EUR 43.1 million (first 9 months of 2010: EUR 18.6 million)

Profit before loan impairment charges: EUR 27.7 million (EUR 30.9 million)

Loan impairment charges: reversal of EUR 15.4 million (EUR 12.3 million)

Cost/income ratio: 40.2% (37.4%)

Deposits: down EUR 10 million (annual change)

Lending: down EUR 260 million (annual change)

Loan/deposit ratio: 0.86 (1.02)

Customer base: 136,000

Bank branches: 16

Employees: 545

This interim report presents the financial results of the banking activities of the Danske Bank Group in Estonia. Sampo Pank has been a member of the Danske Bank Group since February 2007, reported the press-centre of Sampo Pank.

In addition to banking, the Danske Bank Group operates in Estonia in the areas of asset management (Danske Capital) and financial markets (Danske Markets Estonia).

Aivar Rehe, CEO of Sampo Pank, comments on the financial results for the first nine months of 2011 as follows:

“In the third quarter of 2011, the Estonian economy maintained a positive growth rate. Confidence in Estonia’s export markets is weakening, and heightening tensions still prevail in the European money and banking markets. Estonian domestic consumption continues to grow at a moderate rate.

“Sampo Pank has been systematically balancing its assets and liabilities over the year. Customer deposits continued to exceed the loans granted to customers. The loan/deposit ratio was 86% at the end of the period.

“In Q3 2011, the Bank achieved its highest level of cost efficiency, with a cost/income ratio of 34.9%. In the nine-month period under review, the cost/income ratio was 40.2% (2010: 37.4%).

“Profit before tax amounted to EUR 13 million in Q 3 2011 and to EUR 43.1 million (EUR 18.6 m) for the nine-month period.

“In general, Sampo Pank maintained a stable level of income and expenses. Operating income for the first nine months of 2011 totalled EUR 46.3 million (EUR 49.3 million), and operating expenses amounted to EUR 18.6 million (EUR 18.5 million).

“We continued to pursue the conservative loan portfolio assessment policy of the Danske Bank Group, but we did not recognise additional impairment charges in Q3. The ratio of the loan impairment reserve to the loan portfolio was 9.1% at the end of September 2011.

“The bank has increased the number of new loans granted. Although the loan portfolio declined again in Q3, the speed of the decline slowed down considerably. The total volume of loans and leases amounted to EUR 1.42 billion (EUR 1.68 billion) at the end of Q3 2011.

“Sampo Pank has actively maintained a strong position in the deposit market. At the end of Q3 2011, the volume of deposits remained stable at EUR 1.65 billion (EUR 1.66 billion), exceeding the volume of the loan portfolio by EUR 225 million.

“Rahamaa, the educational, advertisement-free online game meant for pre-schoolers and young pupils that was launched on the initiative of Sampo Pank last autumn, has gained great popularity over the year: more than 185,000 user accounts have been opened already. The game is in Estonian, and it explains the essence of money and teaches how to use it wisely.

“According to the results of the EPSI Baltic Customer Satisfaction Study published in October 2011, Sampo Pank excelled in positive development trends in retail banking. The study, which was conducted among more than 5,000 customers of banks in the Baltic states, certified that Sampo Pank has made greater progress over the year than all of its competitors in every area studied: image, experience, products, service and value for money.”

The Danske Bank Group’s Interim Report - First Nine Months 2011 is available at www.danskebank.com/reports.