Sbanken ASA : Strong growth in profitability

Bergen, 13 July 2018. The Sbanken group had a strong growth in lending in the second quarter of 2018.The net profit increased to NOK 209.2 million, compared with NOK 154.7 million in the second quarter last year. The increase in profit was primarily a result of gains from the Vipps, BankAxept and BankID merger and Visa Norge’s conversion from a general partnership to a limited liability company.

At quarter-end, total customer lending had increased to NOK 76.8 billion, compared with NOK 71.1 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2017. Return on equity was 15.3 per cent, compared with 12.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.

Highlights:

• Growth in earnings before tax  – up 25.1 per cent last 12 months
• Strong momentum – lending growth at 6.4 per cent first half-year 2018
• Most satisfied customers – also with the Sbanken brand

 
“We continued our solid growth and delivered strong results in the quarter. Besides strong financial performance, Sbanken was again reported as having the most satisfied customers in the Norwegian banking industry by Norsk Kundebarometer. We entered into an agreement with Apple for distributing Apple’s payment solution to our customers, which proves Sbanken’s innovative capabilities as a leading digital challenger bank. Our solid capital position combined with a scalable business model and attractive products supports continued profit growth.” says Magnar Øyhovden, CEO of Sbanken ASA.

Net interest income increased to NOK 327.5 (310.6) million as a result of increased net lending to customers partly offset by a reduced net interest margin. The net interest margin was 1.47 per cent, down from 1.57 per cent in the second quarter of 2017 and 1.66 per cent in the first quarter of 2018.  

Operating expenses amounted to NOK 168.3 (144.4) million in the quarter. The increase of NOK 23.9 million from the second quarter of 2017 is mainly due to increased marketing efforts and an increase in expenses relating to ongoing initiatives to expand the bank’s offering. These include increased personnel costs as well as increased system and IT-related expenses.

The net cost of losses amounted to NOK 13.5 million in the quarter, equivalent to a loan loss ratio of 0.07 per cent.

At the end of the quarter, Sbanken had a CET 1 capital ratio of 14.8 per cent, a Tier 1 capital ratio of 16.2 per cent and a total capital ratio of 18.0 per cent. The capital ratios include 90 per cent of retained earnings from the first half-year of 2018.

A detailed financial report for the group and for Sbanken ASA is attached to this notice. The report for the wholly owned subsidiary, Sbanken Boligkreditt AS, is distributed separately.

Contact details, Investor Relations
Brede Selseng, Head of IR Sbanken ASA, +47 971 62 171
Henning Nordgulen, CFO, Sbanken ASA, +47 952 65 990

Media contact
Leif-Kjartan Bjørsvik, Head of communications, Sbanken ASA, +47 900 41 162

About Sbanken ASA

In April 2000, Sbanken was launched as the first purely digital bank in Norway. Today, the bank offers a comprehensive range of financial products and services to individuals and households in Norway within payments and card services, deposit-based savings, investment products, long-term loans and short- term loans. The bank has no branches and all products and services are offered directly through the digital platform, which is available on a broad range of user devices. As of 30 June 2018, Sbanken had 445 000 active customers and total assets of NOK 92.4 billion. For more information, see sbanken.no/investor-relations.