Financial highlights for Q4 2023
Arion Bank reports net earnings of ISK 6,224m in Q4 2023, compared with ISK 4,965m in Q4 2022- Return on equity was 12.7%, compared with 10.6% in Q4 2022
- Earnings per share in ISK of 4.28 in Q4, compared with 3.37 in Q4 2022
- Net interest margin of 3.1%, the same as in Q4 2022
- Solid quarter for the fee generating businesses, with total fees of ISK 3.9bn
- Core operating income, defined as net interest income, net commission income and insurance service results (excluding opex of the insurance operation), increased by 2%, compared with Q4 2022
- Cost-to-core income ratio in Q4 was 54.9%, compared with 53.7% in Q4 2022
Financial highlights for the year 2023
Arion Bank reports net earnings of ISK 25,737m in 2023, compared with ISK 25,958m in 2022- Return on equity in 2023 was 13.6%, compared with 14.1% in 2022
- Earnings per share in ISK of 17.8 in 2023, compared with 17.4 in 2022
- Net interest margin of 3.1%, the same as in 2022
- Solid year for the fee generating businesses, with total fees of ISK 16.4bn
- Core operating income, defined as net interest income, net commission income and insurance service results (excluding opex of the insurance operation), increased by 7%, compared with 2022
- Cost-to-core income ratio was 44.7%, compared with 45.0% in 2022
- The balance sheet increased by 4.1% from year-end 2022
- Loans to customers increased by 6.3% during the year. The increase was 8.2% in corporate lending and 4.6% in loans to individuals, mainly mortgages
- Deposits from customers increased by 4.9% in 2023
- The Bank’s capital ratio was 24.1% and the CET1 ratio was 19.7% at the end of December
- The Board proposes a dividend payment of ISK 9.0 per share, equaling around ISK 13bn, net of own shares
Benedikt Gíslason, CEO of
“Arion Group posted solid financial results for 2023 which were in line with our targets. For the third year in succession, we reached all our key financial targets. Our unique and diverse service offering lays the foundations for a stable business. In fact, no other financial institution in
The two dominant stories domestically in 2023 were the struggle against high inflation and the seismic activity on the
During the year we introduced two new measures to accommodate customers who are experiencing higher loan repayments as the fixed mortgage rate period comes to an end. Firstly, there is a payment holiday for one month a year, and secondly there is a so-called payment limit which means that we reduce the interest paid by up to 4 percentage points. The deferred interest payment is then added to the loan principal. This option is ideal for people who want to lower their monthly repayments but still want non-indexed loans. We have also made a concerted effort to reach out to this group of customers so we can discuss with them what the available options are.
In 2023 we placed a special focus on gender equality when it comes to investment and wealth. We carefully analyzed the investment market, and unfortunately it came as no surprise to discover that there is a great disparity between the men and women in terms of savings, pensions and engagement in the financial market. We have therefore launched the long-term initiative Women invest whose aim is to promote investment by women. We have set targets on what we want to achieve over the next few years. The initiative has got off to excellent start and there has been a full house at the events we have organized so far.
Moody’s Investors Service rated Arion Bank’s covered bonds for the first time.
“After having served on the Board of Directors of
The nomination committee of
Investor meeting in English on Thursday 8 February at
The webcast will be accessible live on Lumiconnect and a link is also available on the Bank’s website under Investor Relations.
Participants attending virtually will be able to ask questions during the meeting through a message board on the same site. Answers will be provided by presenters at the end of the webcast.
Financial calendar
Arion Bank’s financial calendar is available on the Bank’s website.
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