Best bank: Swedbank
Despite the Estonian economy experiencing a severe recession last year, the country’s banking sector remained robust and continued to generate stellar growth, supported by the resilience of companies and households facing higher interest rates.
AfE 2024
The bank that navigated the economic conditions the best, delivering outsized profit and income growth while launching a range of new services and solutions, is Swedbank – Estonia’s best bank this year.
In the year to the end of December 2023, Swedbank generated a net profit of €480 million, up 211% year on year, with total income rising 106% to €747 million.
Key drivers included increased net interest income, net insurance income, lower credit impairment and 7% growth in the bank’s lending book to €632 million, mostly from mortgage loans, corporate loans and leasing.
This contributed to the bank generating a return on average equity of 26% – up from 9% in 2022 – and a return on assets of 3.25%.
Alongside