Nordea’s latest interim report contained some positive sustainability news. During the quarter Large Corporates & Institutions facilitated an additional EUR 16bn in sustainable financing, bringing the total to EUR 202bn. This achievement surpasses our target of over EUR 200bn for the period 2022–2025 ahead of schedule and at a time when the ESG sentiment in the market is increasingly uncertain.
Despite this trend, Nordea remains a leading provider of sustainable advisory services among large corporates and institutions. We hold a strong position in the facilitation of Nordic corporate sustainable bonds and loans and continue to expand our capacity in this area.
Petteri Änkilä, Head of Large Corporates & Institutions, says: “As the Nordic region’s leading provider of sustainable financing to businesses, we’re proud to play a key role in supporting our customers in their transition. We’ve significantly developed our ESG advisory services in recent years.”
He continues: “Our approach with corporates is both practical and collaborative, which is ever more relevant for customers in an environment of regulatory uncertainty when it comes to ESG factors. Our top rankings in ESG league tables in the first half of 2025 demonstrate our ability to support our customers, also in a more challenging and changing political environment.”
While a significant portion of the sustainable financing supports large corporates and their sustainable activities, the sum also includes green mortgages for personal customers and green and sustainability-linked loans to small and medium-sized businesses able to demonstrate the positive impact of their investments, for example, on energy and resource consumption.
Nina Arkilahti, Head of Business Banking, explains: “Our customers are looking for ways to transition to more sustainable business models while meeting increasing stakeholder demands – and we continue to support them in that.” She adds, “In the last quarter alone, we engaged in sustainability-themed meetings with more than 700 customers, and the sustainable financing portfolio now accounts for 14% of our total lending.”
To further boost sustainability initiatives among small and medium-sized businesses, Nordea has recently expanded its guarantee agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF) to EUR 393m, providing increased support across the Nordic region.
