Q3: Strong profitability, solid customer activity

We continued to perform well in the third quarter. Profitability was again at a good level, and our return on equity has clearly exceeded 15% for the past eight quarters. Business volumes were stable and customer activity was good, supporting a year-on-year increase in income.

Nordea’s performance demonstrates our structurally improved profitability, which in turn has strengthened our ability to serve our customers. We have been by our customers’ side during the more challenging times for the Nordic economies, and we will continue to take a leading role in supporting them as the outlook brightens. 

There are signs of growing confidence among Nordic households and corporates. Lower inflation and the prospect of lower interest rates have boosted sentiment, which we have observed in the behaviour of our customers. During the third quarter, both households and corporates increased their savings and investments activity, resulting in strong demand for our deposit products.

Mortgage lending was at a stable level. The Nordic housing markets remain subdued but there are some early positive signs of recovery – for example, demand for new loan promises grew for a second straight quarter. Loan promises are a leading indicator for higher future home sales.

Customer use of our digital channels also increased, with the number of mobile users and logins both up 5% year on year. 

Our third-quarter costs developed in line with our operating plan. To drive our strategy execution forward, we have been investing significantly into technology, data and AI, and other key capabilities. These strategic investments will enable us to tap into the benefits of our unique Nordic scale, providing differentiation that cannot easily be copied.

We have also been investing to grow our position in Norway. Our latest acquisition – of Danske Bank’s Norwegian personal and private banking business – is set to close in November and will bolster our market position among retail and private banking customers.

Our financial results show that we are on a good path. We continue to deliver superior returns and generate capital. And after having implemented our new capital models for retail exposures, we are resuming share buy-backs, with our next programme kicking off this month.

Given our strong performance through this year, we have updated our outlook and now expect full-year 2024 return on equity to be above 16%. 

Since our repositioning in 2019, we have lifted Nordea to a new level through lasting efficiencies and focused, profitable growth. We believe our structurally improved profitability will help us sustain our position as one of the best-performing universal banks in Europe. Accordingly, we are confident in our ability to deliver a return on equity of above 15% for 2025.

Nordea’s ambition remains unchanged – to be the preferred financial partner for customers in need of a broad range of financial services.

/Frank