19 Feb 2020

NIB in 2019: Strong financials, high impact

NIB’s net result for 2019 was EUR 182 million. The Bank’s Board of Directors is proposing to pay out EUR 45 million in dividends to the Nordic and Baltic member countries. With a strong financial result, the Bank can best fulfil its mission and continue to provide long-term funding for projects that support sustainable growth, concludes the Board in its annual report.

In 2019, sustainable finance was higher up on the global agenda than ever before. While climate change dominated the debate, the need to account for the social and economic aspects of the transition to a low-carbon economy became more apparent. This also reflects the approach of NIB.

NIB’s mission is to provide long-term loans for projects that improve productivity and benefit the environment. In 2019, NIB agreed 55 loans and invested in nine green bonds, amounting to a total of EUR 3,316 million (EUR 4,330 million in 2018).

“As expected, lending volumes were lower in 2019 than in the previous year. One reason was the record high activity in 2018, but lending growth was also moderated due to statutory limitations”, says Henrik Normann, NIB President and CEO.

The mission fulfilment was at a record high, with 98% of all agreed loans assessed to have a “good” or “excellent” impact in at least one of the two mandates. During the year, NIB financed a number of water management projects, green buildings, R&D programmes, public transport, renewable energy and health sector investments. In addition, financing was allocated to banks and other financial intermediaries for onlending to small and medium-sized enterprises.

In 2019, NIB raised EUR 4.9 billion in new funding through 44 bond transactions. The Bank remained the largest Nordic issuer of green bonds, with the total amount of NIB Environmental Bonds (NEBs) issued since 2011 now at EUR 4.2 billion. NIB also launched its inaugural Nordic-Baltic Blue Bond during the year. The SEK 2 billion (EUR 193 million) bond was issued under the NEB Framework and finances water management and protection projects.

The Bank is involved in several external initiatives to develop sustainable finance: NIB acted as Chair of the Green Bond Principles Executive Committee and joined the Network for Greening the Financial System as an observer. The Bank also signed up to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

“NIB has substantial experience in the field of sustainable finance. All projects we finance are assessed and rated for their potential impact on productivity and the environment. Taking non-financial indicators into account is becoming increasingly common in the financial markets. We need to contribute to this development not only by financing the projects but by sharing the expertise we have gathered over the years,” Mr Normann says.

To allow the Bank to adapt and better support its member countries, the Board of Directors and management have been working on modernising the Statutes of the Bank. As a result, the Board of Governors approved substantial amendments to the Statutes last year. The procedure for national approval of these changes is currently ongoing.

NIB will continue to promote sustainable growth in 2020, driven by increasing demand for public and private investments in green development. Lending volumes in 2020 are expected to be higher than in 2019, and the loan project pipelines looks healthy. The Bank will also continue to participate in the debate on sustainable finance and the setting of standards.

To learn more about NIB’s activities in 2019, please visit Our year in brief

Download the NIB Financial Report 2019 (PDF)

Key figures and ratios

in EUR million, unless otherwise specified 2019 2018
Net interest income 212 223
Net profit 182 173
Loans disbursed 2,676 4,047
Loans agreed 3,316 4,330
Loans outstanding 18,799 19,065
New debt issues 4,909 6,620
Debts evidenced by certificates 26,674 25,651
Total assets 32,653 31,710
Equity/total assets (%) 11.4% 11.3%
Number of employees at year-end 229 224

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:

Mr Henrik Normann, President & CEO, at +358 10 618 001, info@nib.int

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