OREANDA-NEWS. May 13, 2014. In addition to banking, Danske Bank operates in Estonia in the area of asset management (Danske Capital).

Aivar Rehe, the CEO of Danske Bank, comments on the financial results for Q1 2014 as follows:
“In the first quarter of 2014, Danske Bank maintained a high level of liquidity that made it possible to support well-considered lending activities.

“ROE before loan impairment charges was 38.7% (2013: 41.4%). The bank’s net profit for Q1 2014 amounted to EUR 12.2 million (EUR 13.4 million).

“Danske Bank continued to pursue a strategy whose key objectives are first-class customer service, high liquidity, thoroughly considered risk management and stable financial activities.

“Danske Bank’s liquidity remained strong, with large surplus of deposits to loans. On 31 March 2014, deposits exceeded loans by EUR 559 million (EUR 578 million).

“The bank continued its active lending activities and focused on lending to financially strong local and international companies. Danske Bank dominated public procurements, winning around 70% of them. Good loan growth was based on highly competitive lending terms.

“The bank’s operating revenue for the Q1 totalled EUR 13.9 million (EUR 15.7 million), and operating expenses amounted to EUR 7.1 million (EUR 6.8 million).

“Profit before loan impairment charges amounted to EUR 6.8 million (EUR 9,0 million), a decrease of EUR 2.2 million, or 24%.

“The bank’s net profit for Q1 2014 amounted to EUR 12.2 million (EUR 13.4 million).

“Danske Bank manages assets very efficiently: ROE before loan impairment charges came to 69.3% (61.8%).

“Danske Bank had the best deposit/loan ratio of all the large banks operating in Estonia. At the end of March, the ratio was 67.2% (66.4%).

“The total loan portfolio rose in Q1 2014 to EUR 1.146 billion (EUR 1.14 billion).

“Deposits remained strong at EUR 1.705 billion (EUR 1.718 billion).

“Danske Bank follows the conservative loan portfolio assessment policy of Danske Bank Group but did not create additional provisions in Q1 2014 be-cause of the high quality of the loan portfolio.

“The ratio of the loan impairment reserve to the loan portfolio at the end of Q1 2014 was 2.9% (5.5%), which is the most conservative ratio among large banks in Estonia.

“Customers used the bank’s settlement services actively. The number of bank transactions increased in Q1 2014 by 9.2%. Card transactions were up by 8.3%, and payments by 2.3% compared with the levels the year before. The number of companies that were POS partners rose a full 16%.

“At the end of Q1 2014, the bank successfully completed the transition to the new SEPA standards. The international bank account number, or IBAN, was implemented, and the direct debit service was replaced by an e-invoice stand-ing order service. Companies can get account statements and make payments in the ISO20022 xml format.

“The Dive research company carried out a survey of the service levels at banks in the Baltic states in the first quarter. The study showed that Danske Bank remains the bank with the best service in the region. A year before, Danske Bank’s service was ranked the best in all three Baltic states. This year the bank retained its top ratings in Estonia and Latvia but slipped to second place in Lithuania after Finasta.

“Danske Bank was awarded the quality mark of corporate sustainability by the Responsible Business Forum for its responsible and socially and environmen-tally sustainable business activity.

“In March, Danske Bank was also recognised by Minister of Culture Urve Tiidus, who gave the bank a certificate of appreciation for its contribution to beneficial cultural projects.”

The Danske Bank Group’s financial report for Q1 2014 is available at http://www.danskebank.com/reports.