Announcement of the operating result of SEB Bank Group in Lithuania for three quarters of 2018

At the close of three quarters of 2018, net value of the loan and leasing portfolio of the SEB Bank Group increased by 9 per cent, i.e. up to EUR 6.2 billion year on year. Loan and leasing portfolio growth was a result of the population’s more active borrowing and growth in corporate investments. SEB Bank’s deposit portfolio, including deposits of financial institutions, also grew – an increase was 15 per cent, and stood at EUR 5.9 billion.

Comment by Raimondas Kvedaras, Chairman of the Management Board and President of SEB Bank

Lithuania’s economic development continues, maintaining a robust growth rate. Currently, all engines of the economy are running – domestic consumption is active, export volumes and investments are steadily on the rise. The positive course of the country’s development is also well reflected in SEB Bank Group’s in Lithuania operating result for three quarters of 2018: there was growth in the volumes of financing both to private individual and corporate customers, deposit portfolio increased.  

Growing wages and a decreasing level of unemployment this year have enabled the Lithuanian population to feel more secure about their future and see their possibilities of assuming long-term financial obligations in a more positive light. Over the three quarters of 2018, the total amount issued by SEB Bank in new loans to private individual and corporate customers was EUR 1 702 million (in relevant period of 2017, the amount of new loans was EUR 1 551 million). Of this amount, mortgage and consumer loans and other loans were EUR 353 million, which is a 7 per cent increase year-on-year (EUR in relevant period of 2017 – 329 million). The amount issued in loans to companies was EUR 1 349 million, which is a 10 per cent increase year-on-year (in relevant period of 2017 – EUR 1 222 million).

Growth in the volumes of corporate investments was a result of not only business development plans, but also of an increasing pressure on companies to attain higher efficiency in their cost management. A lack of skilled workforce becomes relevant to an increasing share of companies, driving them to invest in technological renewal and robotisation of operations. Leaders among the most active borrowers in Lithuania were production and trade sector companies, also major transport and logistics companies.

Q3 was a success for Lithuanian companies in terms of attracting funds in the global market: bond issues of two companies, Lietuvos Energija and Maxima Grupė, were successfully placed. Together with other cross-border banks, SEB Bank has contributed to the arrangement of these bond issues. We believe that it is a very important step in the sphere of capital markets development in Lithuania, opening up channels to other local companies to follow the example and diversify their financing sources.

The third quarter was characterised by several important novelties that SEB Bank presented to its customers. One of them – incoming instant payments in euro that SEB Bank started offering in September. Also, we introduced one more upgrading of our bank’s app – this time, we extended the app functionality offering a convenient possibility of free-of-charge messaging enabling to inform the customer in real time of any transactions in his or her bank account.

Advanced banking solutions, which offer our customers a possibility to promptly and conveniently address their financial concerns from any location – one’s home, office, café, etc., remain among SEB Bank’s key priorities.

Key data of AB SEB bankas Group in Lithuania
• Over three quarters of 2018, unaudited net profit earned by SEB Bank was EUR 79.2 million (which is a 22 per cent increase as compared to a relevant period of 2017, when its unaudited net profit was EUR 65.0 million), and that earned by the SEB Bank Group was EUR 80.9 million, or 27 per cent higher as compared to a relevant period a year ago, when it was EUR 63.8 million).
• Over three quarters of 2018, contributions to the Lithuanian state budget by the SEB Group companies operating in Lithuania were more than EUR 51 million paid in different taxes.
• As at 30 September 2018, SEB Bank Group’s equity was worth EUR 747 million (EUR 738 million yoy), i.e. increased by 1 per cent.
• As at 30 September 2018, SEB Bank Group’s assets totalled EUR 7.7 billion (EUR 7.7 billion yoy), i.e. remained unchanged.
• Over three quarters of 2018, income of the SEB Bank Group was EUR 152.4 million (EUR 129.6 million yoy), i.e. increased by 18 per cent.
• As at 30 September 2018, SEB Bank’s deposit portfolio was EUR 5.9 billion (EUR 5.1 billion yoy), i.e. increased by 15 per cent.
• As at 30 September 2018, net worth of AB SEB bankas Group’s credit and lease portfolio totalled EUR 6.2 billion (EUR 5.7 billion yoy), i.e. increased by 9 per cent over a year. Credit quality remained good.
• As at the end of September 2018, the number of active users of SEB Internet Bank was about 490 thousand, and more than 180 thousand customers were users of SEB mobile app.
• There was a consistent increase in the number of payments by card: over three quarters of 2018, the number of payments by card increased by 17 per cent yoy.
• As at the end of September 2018, SEB Bank had 31 customer service units in Lithuania, 26 of them operating as financial advisory units, offering self-service areas for customers to execute their daily cash transactions.
• About 4 thousand video financial advisory meetings were arranged.
• Customers of SEB Bank have access to the largest ATM network in Lithuania which includes ATMs of SEB and Luminor (former DNB bank), i.e. 512 ATMs, and about 1,200 points of sale, where they are can withdraw cash free of charge, when paying by card.