SEB Group published the economic results for Q1 2022

27.04.2022 - 16:49

Today, SEB Group published the economic results for Q1 2022. Information about the results is available here: www.sebgroup.com/ir

Allan Parik, Chairman of the Management Board of SEB Pank, said the following on the activities of the SEB unit in Estonia:

‘The pandemic that affected economic life for two years was replaced in the first quarter by the war in Ukraine, which will leave its mark on the decisions of businesses and private persons for a long time to come. The war in Europe is adding momentum to already rapid inflation, and so Estonia can expect as much as a double-digit price increase percentage this year, which will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the livelihoods of both households and businesses.

The economic environment has also been changed by the fact that trade relations with Russia and Belarus are coming to an end due to sanctions and restrictions. This mainly affects sectors importing raw materials from these countries, such as construction, agriculture, and the timber industry. The countries at war account for only 2 per cent of Estonia’s exports, while their share of imports is 10 per cent. However, Estonia’s economy as a whole stands on broad-based foundations and the loss of trade with Russia will not have drastic consequences for Estonia.

Several new solutions to increase environmental sustainability

In addition to assisting war refugees and the swift implementation of sanctions, SEB continued to invest in the development of its products and services. The focus was on environmental friendliness and promoting customer convenience. Small and medium-sized enterprises can now take favourable loans to buy solar panels and electric car chargers. Private persons are able to get a loan for an energy-efficient home at significantly better terms than before. SEB pension funds now include a green fund, which means that customers can invest their long-term money in solutions that contribute to a more sustainable world. It was also heartening that our nearly 400,000 private and business clients were able to start using Apple Pay. We continued to invest in launching new solutions in the first quarter, to make it easier for customers to open accounts, invest, and become more environmentally friendly.

Customer activity increased in several areas

The first quarter of the year was characterised by the activity of customers in fixing interest rates. Despite the challenging economic environment, customers have also been active in consuming other services, from card payments to loan products, which increased the bank’s revenues by 6.3 per cent. Investments in new solutions and staff increased the bank’s costs by 9.7 per cent compared to the first quarter of last year. The bank’s profit grew by 5 per cent. Deposit growth has decelerated, but still reached 12.1 per cent in the first quarter. Loan growth was 4.2 percent.’

The units of SEB Estonia finished Q1 2022 with a profit of EUR 27.2 million. SEB finished Q1 2021 with a profit of EUR 25.9 million. In Q1, the operating profit of SEB amounted to EUR 46.1 million (EUR 43.4 million in Q1 2021) and its operating costs to EUR 15.4 million (EUR 14.0 million in Q1 2021). In Q1 2022, the bank decreased loan loss provisions by EUR 700,000 (in the same period of 2021, the bank decreased the provisions by EUR 500,000). Income tax was EUR 3.7 million (EUR 3.3 million in Q1 2021).