In 2018, customer deposits have risen by 13%, whereas the loan portfolio has grown by 11%

In 2018, SEB banka issued loans totalling EUR 966 million, the total loan portfolio grew by 11%, and the profit of SEB group in Latvia reached EUR 48.8 million, an increase by 19% compared to the same period in 2017.

In 2018, SEB banka issued loans totalling EUR 966 million, maintaining a stable financing level, which was equivalent to the level of new financing issued in 2017. Whereas, during 2018, the total loan portfolio of SEB banka grew by 11%, which was fuelled by the activity of large companies and their investments in the long-term projects. This supports that entrepreneurs have trust and confidence in their businesses, which, in turn, is a prerequisite for strengthening the competitiveness of Latvia on a global scale. In the 12 months of 2018, the profit of SEB group in Latvia reached EUR 48.8 million, an increase by 19% compared to the same period in 2017.

Ieva Tetere, CEO of SEB banka:

“We will definitely remember the year 2018 because of the changes in the financial sector, which resulted in a massive need for defending Latvia's reputation outside its borders. Despite the turbulence, I believe that what happened during the year has helped the banking sector and our country to tidy things up, i.e., get rid of the money of an obscure origin, pay greater attention to anti-money laundering activities and business transparency.

We ourselves will also continue to have an even greater focus on ensuring business sustainability, i.e., we have evaluated and taken a number of key decisions to enable transparency and sustainability in the bank’s activity and mindset.

Thanks to its consistent approach and aiming to support the objectives of its customers, the loan portfolio of SEB has increased by 11%, reaching EUR 3 billion at the end of December.

Customers, both individuals and companies, have engaged actively: in the 12 months of 2018, the newly-issued financing totalled EUR 966 million. Loans issued to legal entities amounted to EUR 774 million, 69% of the loans were issued to large companies, and 31% of the loans were issued to small and medium-sized companies. At the end of the year, the Latvenergo transaction attracted broader media attention as being the largest transaction in Latvian financial sector over at least the last decade. We are pleased that Latvenergo group opted to attract financing from SEB banka for implementing its ambitious investment projects. During the year, we have also issued more than EUR 137 million to individuals for the purchase and repair of housing, as well as for financing daily consumption needs. Compared to 2017, this volume has increased only slighly.

Over the year, there has been a significant rise in the number of our customers and transactions. Our customers are increasingly opting to receive banking services remotely. Our Internet Bank offers a wider range of services. Customers connect to the Internet Bank more often: in 2018, customers connected 31.3 million times, which is up by 23% compared to 2017.

In addition, customers do appreciate the easy of use of Smart-ID – at the end of the year, nearly 200 thousand users had used it, which is an increase of 29% compared to the end of 2017.

We have also developed mobile applications for smartphones – for individuals as well as for businesses. At the end of December, there were more than 100,000 users of the mobile applications, of which 57,000 users had been using the apps actively on a daily basis.

We have been offerring video consultations to customers, which enables saving time for customers and engaging in financial transactions at the time and place that is convenient to them. By the end of the year, more than 500 customers had received video consultations. It should also be mentioned that customers have been increasingly opting to sign documents electronically, i.e., at the end of December, 40,000 documents were signed digitally.”

Johan Torgeby, SEB Group President and CEO:

"All in all, our diversified business mix generated stable financial results and this year the corporate customer segments were the main drivers of financial performance. Customers benefitted from the prolonged strong business cycle.

Large corporate demand for traditional bank lending, as well as advisory services and event-driven financing, continued to grow. Financial institutions became more active towards the end of the year as volatility picked up. Small and medium-sized corporate customers in Sweden and the Baltic countries increased their demand for lending. SEB also experienced continued growth in payment and card fees, following higher customer transaction activity".

The financial indicators of SEB group in Latvia in the 12 months of 2018:

• The revenue of SEB group in Latvia amounted to EUR 102.9 million, up by 5% compared to the 12 months of 2017;
• The costs amounted to EUR 49.7 million, which is an indicator similar to the performance in the 12 months of 2017;
• Profit before provisions amounted to EUR 53.2 million, up by 9% compared to the period from January to December 2017;
• The provisions created between 1 January to 31 December amounted to EUR 3.8 million; in the 12 months of 2018, operating profit after taxes and provisions amounted to EUR 48.8 million, up by 19% than in the relevant period in 2017;
• At 31 December 2018, the total amount of deposits with SEB banka was EUR 2.69 billion, which is by 13% higher than that at the end of December 2017;
• At the end of December 2018, the total loan portfolio was EUR 3 billion, i.e., up by 11% compared to the end of December 2017;
• Own funds and reserves amounted to EUR 387.1 million at 31 December 2018;
• Assets amounted to EUR 3.719 billion at the end of December 2018.