Significant increase in demand for NIB’s financing

During the first six months of 2022, the Bank has seen a significant increase in demand for its financing. NIB agreed a total of EUR 2,203 million in new loans and disbursed EUR 2,142 million, compared to EUR 664 million and EUR 1,266 million respectively in the same period in 2021.

The new lending was distributed across different sectors and countries and include sustainability-linked loans and NIB’s first purchase of a bond eligible under the Minimum Requirement for its own funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL) issued by a financial institution.

“In these times, the need for the Nordic and Baltic region to accelerate the green transition and become independent of Russian oil and gas has become even more urgent. NIB has already financed numerous renewable energy and transmission projects across the member countries which is at the core of the Bank’s mandate. We continue to provide support in making these goals a reality and in transforming the hard-to-abate business sectors that must also go green,” says André Küüsvek, NIB President and CEO.

To meet the demand for financing, NIB had a record amount of funding transactions and raised EUR 5.5 billion in new funding in the first half of 2022. Among other transactions, the Bank issued its inaugural NIB Environmental Bond (NEB) denominated in Danish Kroner (DKK). The eight-year DKK 2 billion bond was driven by domestic investors focusing on ESG. The Bank has now issued a total of EUR 6.2 billion in environmental bonds under its NEB Framework since 2011.

“Earnings from NIB’s core operations saw a strong development in the first half of 2022 and net interest income ended at EUR 104 million which is an increase compared to the same period last year. The loan portfolio also remains strong and there was a reversal of EUR 8 million in loan loss provisions during the first six months of 2022,” says Kim Skov Jensen, NIB’s Vice President & CFO.  

The net profit for the period amounted to EUR 39 million, compared to EUR 82 million in 2021. The decrease in net profit is mainly due to unrealised fair value losses on financial instruments used for hedging purposes and, as the Bank intends to hold these hedges until maturity, these losses will not be realised.

The Bank is in a strong financial position as confirmed by our Triple-A rating, which was reaffirmed by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s in April. NIB’s credit rating, the highest possible from rating agencies, reflects its high asset quality, solid liquidity and capital adequacy, strong balance sheet, and ownership.

NIB’s Interim Financial Report January–June 2022

Key figures and ratios

In millions of euro unless otherwise specified	Jan-Jun 2022*	Jan-Jun 2021*	Jan-Dec 2021
Net interest income	104	102	201
Profit before net loan losses	31	68	133
Net profit	39	82	159
Lending disbursed	2,142	1,266	2,440
Lending agreed	2,203	664	1,852
Mandate fulfilment **	98%	98%	97%
Lending outstanding	22,616	22,260	22,313
Total assets	39,884	38,319	37,553
New debt issues	5,540	4,855	7,028
Debts evidenced by certificates	32,898	32,084	31,526
Total equity	3,976	3,936	3,999
Equity/total assets ***	10.0%	10.3%	10.6%
Profit/average equity ***	1.9%	4.2%	4.1%
Cost/income ***	47.6%	28.1%	27.9%
Number of employees at period end	226	224	221

* Unaudited figures, to be read in conjunction with NIB’s 2021 audited financial statements
** See report page 9 for mandate fulfilment explanation
*** See report page 26 for ratio definitions

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
André Küüsvek, President & CEO, at +358 10 618 001, info@nib.int

Kim Skov Jensen, Vice President & CFO, at +358 10 618 0209, kim.jensen@nib.int

Jukka Ahonen, Senior Director, Head of Communications, at +358 10 618 0295, jukka.ahonen@nib.int