Standing by our customers in turbulent times

2022 turned out to be yet another extraordinary year.

During this time last year, we were witnessing the last COVID restrictions in the Western part of the world. We were also launching an updated strategy and a financial target for Nordea. Little did we know what lay ahead.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started, causing significant human suffering and creating societal and financial uncertainty across Europe.

Since then, inflation, energy prices and interest rates have increased. We returned to a more normal interest rate environment after a decade of extremely expansive monetary policy – one of the biggest financial experiments in many decades. In the financial markets, we saw the worst combined returns across bond and equity markets since the late 1960s.

In this turbulent environment, we stood by the customers and societies that we serve and delivered yet another strong set of results. Our business volumes grew and we gained market shares across the Nordics.

In the fourth quarter we continued to drive high business activity. We broadened our savings offering further and supported our customers with their financing and risk management needs. We proactively served our customers - and for example saw a 50% year-on-year increase in their mobile and netbank interactions with personalised, digital messages.

Our proactive approach and omnichannel model enabled us to maintain strong business momentum, and our operating profit was up 26% at EUR 1,609m.

Lending demand among our corporate customers remained high, with volumes up by 9%. Mortgage volumes were up 3%. We were able to grow and gain market shares, even in an environment where uncertainty has had an adverse impact on the Nordic housing market.

Reflecting our strong financial performance in 2022, our Board has proposed a dividend of 80 eurocents per share. Dividends are important for our shareholders – for more than 565,000 private individuals, pension funds and other investors. Our dividend payments support economic activity, drive growth in the Nordic societies and channel funding to innovation and education and other societal support. This is especially important in more challenging times.

Our business model is very resilient and our strategy stands the test of time. We are committed to delivering on our key priorities and 2025 financial target.

We would not have been able to support our customers and achieve strong results without our very skilled and dedicated employees. I would like to thank the entire Nordea team for the great efforts. I would also like to thank all our customers, shareholders and other stakeholders for your feedback and very good cooperation during the year.

Our primary focus is – and always will be – to serve our customers to the best of our ability. We recognise that without the trust and loyalty of our customers, we would not be where we are today. That is also our way forward – to be the preferred partner for our customers. In both good and challenging times.