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Tine Wollebekk, Head of the Norwegian Bank, presents the results for the first quarter on Thursday. The image is from a previous occasion.
Gorm Kallestad / NTB scanpix, Vidar Ruud / NTB scanpix
published:,
The case is being updated.
The total profit of the Bank of Norway fell to NOK 368 million in the first quarter from 504 million in the previous quarter.
The decrease is mainly due to the bank taking additional loan provisions of 230 million related to Covid-19. Total losses for the quarter ended at NOK 621 million.
The bank says it is still too early to say how the highly uncertain effects of Covid-19 will affect operations.
“As of today, there is limited evidence of customer behavior that indicates a significant increase in credit risk. But the fall in economic activity has led to a sharp rise in unemployment, which is expected to lead to further credit losses, ”states the bank statement.
Depending on the length and depth of the economic downturn, the bank expects a drop in private consumption that will lead to lower credit card purchases and demand for consumer loans.
Loan volumes can also drop when consumers prioritize debt reduction.
Due to the crown crisis, the bank has suspended its plans for further expansion in Europe.
The growth of loans
Despite the turmoil, the bank gained 31,000 new clients during the quarter, and therefore has a total of 1.75 million clients.
Gross customer loans increased by NOK 2.86 billion during the quarter to NOK 47 billion.
At the same time, net interest income increased to NOK 1.39 billion in the first quarter from NOK 1.27 billion in the corresponding quarter last year.
Bank Norwegian is an online bank that offers consumer loans, credit cards, and deposits to retail clients in the Nordic region. The bank cooperates with the Norwegian airline in the Norwegian Reward customer loyalty program.
