Allan Parik on the financial results of SEB: the activity of the economy and the demand for loans are recovering

Today, the SEB Group published its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, which can be found at www.sebgroup.com/ir.

Allan Parik, Chairman of the Board of SEB Pank, commented on the results of SEB units in Estonia as follows:

SEB has launched a new phase of its business plan, which aims to grow its business in all segments in the Baltics. Within three years, SEB plans to grow to become the largest bank in the Baltics in terms of capital base and funding capacity. Estonia and the other Baltic states will need to invest heavily in energy, defence, health, and housing during this decade. To make these investments, SEB is needed as a strong international bank with the best access to the necessary capital in the market.

At the beginning of the year, Estonia showed signs of optimism and a recovery in economic activity. The corporate loan portfolio grew by 8.2 per cent year on year. The number of business projects currently in the pipeline at SEB has doubled, indicating that the investment appetite of companies is recovering. The biggest threat to the recovery in economic activity are the tariffs imposed by the US, the potential impact of which we are currently paying close attention to. The first quarter was an active period for our Markets team, as turbulent times in financial markets brought about an increase in corporate interest in hedging interest rate and currency risks.

The number of home loans issued by SEB in the first quarter of this year is a third greater than in the same period last year. In total, the private loan portfolio grew by 6.3 per cent year on year. This year, we have paid particular attention to increasing the savings capacity of private individuals and we are pleased to see that private household deposits grew by 7.8 per cent year on year. Meanwhile, the fall in deposit interest rates has prompted people to look for alternatives, which also means increased interest in investing. This is a positive phenomenon, because the investment amounts of Estonians are 10 times lower than those of Swedes and 7 times lower than those of Finns. As with prices, we must catch up with developed countries in terms of increasing our national capital.

SEB Pank Grupp (‘the Group’) ended the first quarter of 2025 with a profit of 43.3 million euros (compared to 31.4 million euros in the first quarter of 2024). The operating income of the Group reached 74.9 million euros (93.9 million euros in the first quarter of 2024) and operating expenses 22.1 million euros (21.2 million euros in the first quarter of 2024). The Group increased its net expected credit losses by 0.9 million euros (there was a reduction of 0.2 million euros in the first quarter of 2024). Income tax was calculated at 8.6 million euros (41.5 million euros in the first quarter of 2024). In the first quarter of 2025, the Group paid about 18.1 million euros in total in various state taxes to the government of Estonia.

Additional information:

Kristi Jänes
Communication manager
Marketing and Communication
SEB Estonia

Phone +372 665 5399
Mobile +372 55 690 616
Tornimäe 2, 15010 Tallinn
kristi.janes@seb.ee