Bank Profits Up by a Quarter in 2013
According to data from the Bank of Estonia, banks in Estonia earned a total of 444 million euros in profits in 2013, a quarter more than in the previous year.
Swedbank Estonia led the table, recording 176 million euros in profits last year, although that represents a decrease of 22 million compared to 2012, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday.
Head of the bank's Estonian branch, Priit Perens, said that the reason for the decrease lies in a standstill in economic development, as fewer investments were made and Swedbank earned less on loan interest. Interest rates also decreased, he noted.
Nordea today announced profits of 30 million euros in Estonia last year, an increase of 15 percent compared to 2012.
Estonian-owned LHV reported a 4.3 million-euro profit, a huge change compared to its 1.7 million euro loss of 2012. Private deposits in the bank grew by 26 percent to 356 million euros, while the loan portfolio grew by a whopping 94 percent to 206 million euros.
SEB and Dankse have yet to release their financial results from last year, but their profits are included in the totals reported by the central bank.