Nordea Bank Surpasses First Quarter Earnings Expectations, Sees Signs of Lending Recovery

Gdansk, Poland - Nordea Bank, the largest lender in the Nordic region, announced on Wednesday that its first-quarter operating earnings exceeded market forecasts. The improvement in earnings was attributed to higher income, lower expenses, and a drop in loan losses when compared to the previous quarter.

Despite a challenging environment within Nordic mortgage markets, Nordea identified signs of a gradual recovery in demand for new loans. The bank's mortgage lending grew by 6% during the first three months of 2025. This increase was significantly influenced by Nordea's acquisition of Danske Bank's personal customer and private banking business in Norway, which was finalized in November. When excluding the effects of this acquisition, mortgage lending remained stable.

Frank Vang-Jensen, CEO of Nordea, commented on the uncertain market conditions, citing international trade tensions and geopolitical challenges that have heightened uncertainty. However, he remained optimistic about the future, noting, "We continue to see lower inflation and interest rates, which should support higher lending and investment activity when confidence returns."

The bank reported an operating profit of 1.61 billion euros ($1.83 billion), a decline of 9% from the previous year, yet a 10% increase compared to the fourth quarter. This performance was above the average analyst estimate of 1.54 billion euros from LSEG.

One of the key metrics for assessing a bank's financial health is net interest income, which measures income derived from lending and deposits. Nordea reported net interest income of 1.83 billion euros for the quarter, surpassing the analysts' forecast of 1.79 billion euros. A contributing factor to this positive outcome was a beneficial deposit hedge and robust treasury operations, which helped mitigate weaker margins, according to a note by J.P. Morgan analysts.

Additionally, Nordea reiterated its expectation for a return on equity to remain above 15% for the year, indicating strong financial management despite market challenges.

Following the earnings announcement, Nordea's shares saw a slight decline, trading marginally lower at 0819 GMT.

For more updates on financial news and insights, stay connected with our publications.

($1 = 0.8814 euros)

Reporting by Elviira Luoma in Gdansk, Editing by Milla Nissi.