Norway’s largest bank, DNB, kept its shipping loan book stable in the first quarter of the year.
Shipping loans stood at NOK 33.6bn ($3.1bn) compared with NOK 33.7bn at the end of the year.
The Oslo-based bank’s maximum exposure to shipping clients, which also includes guarantees, unutilised credit lines and loan offers, was NOK 50.8bn.
DNB’s profit in the first quarter was NOK 10.2bn, which is NOK 300m lower than the corresponding quarter of last year.
“DNB’s strong results were partly driven by a positive trend in the corporate market — not only in Norway but also abroad,” the bank said in a statement.
“A stronger-than-expected start to the year adds weight to the belief that the Norwegian economy is heading for a soft landing,” chief executive Kjerstin Braathen said.
Around one-quarter of the bank’s income in the first quarter came from international operations.
At the same time, the Norwegian economy continued to show resilience in a time of higher interest rates.
“Norway has succeeded in keeping people in work while bringing down inflation in a controlled manner. In addition, 2024 is set to be a year of real wage growth. This is good news,” Braathen said.
DNB’s lending portfolio has proved robust throughout the key policy rate hikes, both in the personal customer market and the corporate market, the bank said.
DNB recognised impairment provisions of NOK 323m in the first quarter.
Earnings per share were up 9.3% to NOK 6.48 compared with NOK 5.93 in the fourth quarter.
