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The result was as expected and affected by non-recurring items
Return on shareholders’ equity of 9.6%. New targets for societal impact and sustainability
“The financial results for 2019 were as expected. Customer activity was at a good level in
Our plan to become a better bank for all stakeholders and deliver on our ambitions for 2023 is off to a good start. Key initiatives include a simplification of our product range, accelerated digitalisation efforts in areas that are particularly important to our customers and improved cost discipline across the Group. Furthermore, we have defined clear, quantitative targets for among other things our contribution to the transition towards a greener economy as well as for our own efforts to become a more diverse and inclusive workplace with an even more customer- and compliance-centric culture. These are just the first of many steps we will take in the months and years to come.”
The annual report is available at danskebank.com. Highlights are shown below:
2019 vs 2018
The year was characterised by difficult financial markets, a further decline in interest rates, a slight worsening of the macroeconomic environment and persistently strong competition in all markets. Customer activity was still at a good level, though, and our partnership agreements continued to help us grow lending in most Nordic markets. Regulatory and compliance costs continued to increase, and an expected rise in impairments also had a negative effect on the result.
The return on shareholders’ equity in 2019 was 9.6%, against 9.8% in 2018.
Total income amounted to
- Net interest income totalled
DKK 21.9 billion , a decrease of 7%. Lending grew on almost all our Nordic markets, but the positive effect of this was offset by higher funding costs and pressure on margins. The growth in lending was among other things driven by our partnership agreements.
- Net fee income amounted to
DKK 15.9 billion , an increase of 3% from the level in 2018. Net fee income was positively affected by significant remortgaging activity inDenmark and higher performance fees at Wealth Management in the fourth quarter. Fee income was adversely affected by the amount set aside for compensation of Flexinvest Fri customers in the second quarter of 2019. - Net trading income totalled
DKK 5.0 billion , an increase of 7% from the level in 2018. The financial markets were affected by challenging conditions in 2019, and the increase in income was driven mainly by the sale ofLR Realkredit A/S and higher remortgaging activity. - Other income amounted to
DKK 2.2 billion , againstDKK 0.7 billion in 2018. The increase was due mainly to the gain on the sale of Danica Pension Sweden.
Operating expenses amounted to
Credit quality remained solid in 2019 on the back of our strong focus on this area. Loan impairments amounted to
At the end of
Capital position still strong
Dividend for 2019
Danske Bank’s dividend policy is unchanged, and it is still our ambition to pay out between 40% and 60% of net profit for the year. On the basis of our strong capital position, the Board of Directors is proposing a dividend of
Financial outlook for 2020
We expect net profit for 2020 to be in the range of
The outlook is subject to uncertainty and macroeconomic developments.
The execution of our
In addition, we have set specific targets for our ambitions within societal impact and sustainability that we must reach by 2023:
Sustainable investing
Sustainable financing
Volume of sustainable financing (green loans and arranged bonds) well above
Governance
Over 95% of employees complete training in risk and compliance.
Diversity and inclusion
35% share of women in senior leadership positions.
Environmental footprint
10% reduction in own CO2 emissions from the level in 2019 and 75% reduction from 2010.
Entrepreneurship
10,000 start-ups and scale-ups supported with tools, services and expertise.
Financial literacy
2 million people supported with financial literacy tools and expertise.
We refer to Sustainability Report 2019, which is available at danskebank.com/societal-impact.
Our ambitions for societal impact and sustainability are part of our overall ambitions that we must meet by 2023. We announced the ambitions on
- We are on average among the top two on customer satisfaction in everything we do.
- At least 90% of employees are engaged.
- We operate sustainably, ethically and transparently – and have a positive impact on the societies we are a part of.
- We aim to achieve a return on shareholders’ equity of 9-10% and a cost/income ratio in the low 50s by continuously improving the profitability level, leveraging our full potential.
Contact:
The annual report will be presented at a press conference at
Attachments
Danske Bank press release5 February 2020 - Risk Management 2019
- Danske Bank Annual Report 2019 A
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