Denmark's biggest lender Danske Bank has today reported first-quarter net profit in line with expectations and kept its full-year guidance unchanged despite a high level of macroeconomic uncertainty.
Booming interest income as central banks have cranked up rates in the past two years has provided support for Nordic banks' earnings, but with monetary policy set to ease later this year such revenue growth will likely wane.
First-quarter net profit rose to 5.6 billion Danish crowns ($806.21 million) from 5.2 billion a year earlier compared with the 5.6 billion average forecast by analysts in a poll provided by the bank.
"It is still very much a mixed picture with many areas of the Nordic economies performing well, but we also see businesses facing headwinds, for example within construction," CEO Carsten Egeriis said in a statement.
Net interest income rose 14% in the quarter to 9.14 billion crowns compared to the same period a year ago, but came in slightly below the 9.25 billion expected by analysts.
Danske Bank said in February it had started to see a slight deterioration in customer credit quality towards the end of last year, but it said that while the trend had continued to be negative it had improved in the January to March period.
Danske Bank kept its forecast for 2024 net profit unchanged between 20 billion and 22 billion Danish crowns.
