OREANDA-NEWS. July 29, 2010. "We have seen a positive development in our customer business with a record level of new Gold and Private Banking customers and we have strengthened relationships with our large corporate customers. Our market shares have increased and income in customer segments is up 9%, reported the press-centre of Nordea Bank.

The Group result is in line with our plans. Net interest income is holding up well despite the low interest rate levels. Net fee and commission income has increased. The net result from items at fair value has decreased from the high level in the first quarter.

We are especially pleased with the continued development of our relationship banking model and our growth initiatives. Together, they lay a strong foundation for reaching our long-term financial targets". (For further viewpoints, see CEO comments, page 2).

Second quarter vs first quarter:

Income from corporate customers up 10% and from household customers up 7%;

Number of Gold and Private Banking customers up by 73,000 or 2.6%;

Net loan losses down 28% to 26 basis points, excluding provisions for the Danish guarantee scheme, and the growth in impaired loans levelled out and a slight decrease was seen ;

Operating profit down 17%, due to lower result from items at fair value;

Outlook: The outlook is improved regarding the Nordic macroeconomic development. Net loan losses in 2010 are now expected to be lower than in 2009. Credit quality continues to stabilise, in line with the economic recovery. Nordea continues to expect risk-adjusted profit to be lower in 2010 compared to 2009, due to lower income in Treasury and Markets. (For full outlook, see page 8).