OREANDA-NEWS. August 13, 2013. In addition to banking, Danske Bank operates in Estonia in the area of asset management (Danske Capital).

Aivar Rehe, CEO of Danske Bank, comments on the financial results for Q2 2013 as follows:

“Danske Bank Estonia has achieved its best financial results since the recession whilst maintaining its high financial efficiency. The bank’s high liquidity makes it possible to support well-considered investments and thereby the development and activity of the entire economy.

“ROE in Q2 before loan impairment charges was 58.4% and the cost/income ratio was kept at 38.3%.

“The bank is one of the market leaders in terms of deposit growth. Deposits increased by 31% year-on-year, which in terms of money meant an increase of EUR 436 million.

“Danske Bank will continue to implement its strategy, whose keywords are first-class customer service, high liquidity, thoroughly considered risk management and stable financial activities.

“Danske Bank’s liquidity is very strong. The surplus of deposits to loans remains strong. Deposits exceeded loans by 730 million euros at the end of Q2 2013.

“The bank’s operating income in the first half of the year was EUR 33.3 million (EUR 32.2 million), an increase of 1.1 million euros – which means growth of 3.4%.

“The bank’s operating expenses in the first half of the year amounted to EUR 13.5 million (EUR 13.3 million), an increase of 0.2 million euros - which means growth of 1.5%.

“As a result, profit before loan impairment charges rose to EUR 19.8 million (EUR 18.9 million), an increase of 0.9 million euros or 4.7%.

“The volume of provisions reversed in the first half of 2013 was considerably smaller than in the first half of 2012. The net profit earned by the bank in the first half of 2013 amounted to EUR 28.6 million.

“Danske Bank manages assets highly efficiently: ROE in the first half of the year before loan impairment charges comprised 49.3% (48.7% the year before).

“The loan/deposit ratio was 60.7% (88.4% in the first half of 2012). Danske Bank has the best deposit/loan ratio of any of the large banks operating in Estonia.

“The effectiveness of the bank’s activities has remained high. The cost/income ratio in the first half of 2013 was 40.6% (41.3% the year before).

“The speed of the decrease in the total loan portfolio has slowed considerably. The total amount of loans and leasing at the end of the first half of the year was EUR 1.13 billion (compared to EUR 1.26 billion the year before).

“Danske Bank holds a strong position on the deposit market and reached the level of EUR 1.86 billion (EUR 1.42 billion).

“Danske Bank observes the conservative loan portfolio assessment policy of the Danske Bank Group, but did not create additional provisions in the first half of the year, and the quality of the loan portfolio is improving strongly.

“The ratio of the loan impairment reserve to the loan portfolio in Danske Bank at the end of the first half of 2013 was 4.7% (7.0% the year before), which is the most conservative of the large banks in Estonia.

“Customers used the bank’s settlement services actively and the payment trend of clients has been on the up in 2013. The number of international payments made by customers in the first half of the year exceeded the number of payments made in the same period last year by more than 17%.

“Danske Bank continued introducing the new standards of financial services to companies in the first half of the year. The new solutions are more transparent and easier for customers to understand in terms of pricing and they include first-class financial advice (e.g. the strategic analysis tool Danske Navigator and new deposit and card payment acceptance solutions).

“In May, Danske Bank organised the eighth Danske Leaders Forum (formerly Sampo Leaders Forum), which is the biggest management conference in Estonia, with over 400 participants. The goal of the forum is to bring together leading thinkers from various areas of business and recognised management experts. The theme of the forum this year was “We’re Open!” and the participants discussed the opportunities and risks associated with Estonia’s open economic policy.”

Danske Bank Group financial results

Danske Bank today announced its financial results for the first half of 2013. For more information about the results, go to www.danskebank.com/Reports.