Third-quarter results 2026

Frank Vang-Jensen, President and Group CEO of Nordea

“Nordea performed well again this quarter. We grew total income year on year, further expanded our customer base, deepened existing relationships and delivered strong growth in savings and investments in a seasonally slower quarter. Our 2030 strategy is on track, with clear progress made during the quarter. In Life & Pension we significantly grew our assets under management. In Sweden we continued to grow business volumes across both household and corporate segments and have outpaced overall market growth over the past year. Our Nordic scale initiatives across core processes are delivering tangible results for customers: mortgage loan promises are now more automated and corporate lending has been further digitalised, enabling us to be more available for customers and fulfil their needs faster. Geopolitical uncertainty and volatility remain high. However, the global and Nordic economies continue to show resilience, supported by substantial investment in areas such as artificial intelligence, defence, infrastructure and energy transition. We expect continued economic growth, solid export performance and gradually improving household consumption in our home markets, with growth now also picking up in Finland. At the same time, we are mindful of the recent sharp rises in forward interest rates and the potential for higher rates to affect consumer confidence in the months to come. The resilience and growing confidence among Nordic businesses of all sizes was reflected in the strong momentum in our corporate lending and deposits during the quarter. Lending increased by 8% and deposits by 7% year on year. This growth shows the strength of our customer relationships and pan-Nordic franchise. The Nordic housing markets kept up their gradual recovery. Mortgage volumes rose by 2% year on year, driven especially by Sweden and Norway. Retail deposits increased by 4%. Demand for our savings and investment products was strong. Customers continued to invest through our funds and pension products, and we welcomed a significant number of new private banking customers during the quarter – driving positive net flows. Assets under management (AuM) increased by 13%, to a record high of EUR 509bn, with margins stable. Total income grew by 2% year on year, to EUR 3.0bn. Net fee and commission income increased by 9%, with savings income up 14%. Net interest income development was also positive, up 1% both year on year and quarter on quarter despite lower lending margins. Net fair value result was down 19% due to the extraordinary interest rate volatility late in the quarter, while customer activity was solid in the seasonally slower period. Costs were flat year on year excluding foreign exchange effects. We continue to invest heavily in strategic initiatives to drive efficiency and productivity across the business. In the third quarter the cost-to-income ratio was 45.0%, operating profit was EUR 1.5bn and return on equity was 15.1%. Credit and asset quality continue to be very strong. Net loan losses and similar net result corresponded to 7bp. Loan losses remained low, limited mainly to a small number of corporate customers and well within the Group’s long term expectation of around 10bp. In Personal Banking we continued to advance our strategic initiatives and delivered solid business growth. Mortgage and deposit volumes were up 2% and 4%, respectively, in local currencies year on year. In Sweden we continued to grow our mortgage market share, capturing 21% of the market growth in August year to date. Our strong savings advisory expertise, combined with better integration of savings and daily banking into the mortgage customer onboarding journey, drove continued strong savings inflows and deposit growth. Recurring savings inflows were up 14% year on year. We were also pleased to be named best bank and best digital bank in the Nordics in Euromoney's Awards for Excellence. In Asset & Wealth Management we continued to drive strong income and AuM growth. In Private Banking, a strategic growth area, we made further good progress, with net flows amounting to EUR 0.9bn. Customer demand for our Private Banking offering is increasing – translating into strong growth in net fee and commission income. We also saw strong demand for our BetaPlus fund range, which is now one of Europe’s largest enhanced index platforms, with over EUR 100bn in AuM. Importantly, after seeing some outflows in the previous quarter, our wholesale distribution channel returned to positive net flows in the quarter. In Business Banking we maintained solid volume growth across our home markets: lending volumes were up 6% year on year and deposits were up 2%. We continued to enhance our digital offering, including through a faster, more automated onboarding process – advancing our ambition to become the leading digital financial hub for SMEs in the Nordics. Nordea Business won Global Finance’s awards for Best Corporate Digital Bank and Best Mobile Banking App in each of our four home markets: the fourth consecutive year that we have gained this recognition. In Large Corporates & Institutions customer engagement remained high in all markets and we drove further progress in our strategic growth areas: Sweden, Norway, cross-sales, and the infrastructure segment. Activity and client demand were solid over the seasonally quieter period, supporting year-on-year increases of 13% in both lending and deposit volumes and higher net fee and commission income. Our bond market activity remained high, and we helped customers raise capital and execute strategic transactions amid signs of improving sentiment in equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. Net fair value result was lower due to the extraordinary interest rate volatility late in the quarter. Our capital position is strong, with a CET1 ratio of 15.8%, and we continue to deploy capital for profitable growth. We enter the fourth quarter with good business momentum. Our strategy execution is progressing well across all key initiatives. Despite global uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and recent rate increases, the economies of our home markets are strong and resilient. Our customers are confident and continue to pursue growth opportunities – and with our Nordic scale, we are uniquely placed to support them with their plans. Our strong performance is reflected in our full-year 2026 guidance. We continue to expect a return on equity of greater than 15% and a cost-to-income ratio of 44–45%. Our ambition is to become the undisputed best-performing financial services group in the Nordics.”