Allan Parik: rising loan demand signals a recovery in consumer optimism
Today, the SEB Group published its financial results for 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:
In 2025, the Estonian units of SEB generated a profit of €166.9 million, while the bank contributed €102.6 million in taxes to the Estonian state. The banking sector was influenced last year by a stabilised Euribor, and markets expect the 6-month Euribor to remain between 2.1% and 2.5% this year. This means that we have returned to an economic environment where borrowing has become more affordable and, alongside saving, more and more people are considering investing.
Despite various tax increases, the economic activity of consumers has recovered. A record number of SEB customers began saving last year to secure their financial well-being. The volumes of the deposits at SEB grew by nearly 54% year on year. There was also a record increase in new investors: last year, a record number of customers started their investment journeys, 45% more than in previous years. In addition to saving and investing, the pension assets of our customers also grew by 11.3% over the year. By the end of the year, the retail customer deposits of SEB stood at 3 billion euros, while investments and pension assets amounted to 1.9 billion euros.
SEB issued nearly 2.1 billion euros in new loans and leases in Estonia last year. Of these, 1.3 billion was loaned to businesses and approximately 800 million to private individuals. SEB financed 5,129 home purchases and 5,510 business plans. The loan portfolio of businesses grew by 9.3% in 2025 and the loan portfolio of private customers by 5.5%. Rising loan demand signals a renewed confidence among businesses. Domestic capital was particularly active, but foreign investors also made significant investments in Estonia last year.
This year, SEB aims to prepare for the merger of SEB banks in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to support the growth plans of customers as a larger, stronger, and more streamlined bank from 2027. The merger will create a bank with the largest capital base and funding capacity in the Baltics. This will allow SEB to support the growth ambitions of its customers even more effectively than before. The monitoring and reporting processes will also be simplified significantly. The regional headquarters of SEB will be located in Tallinn.
Last year, several socially significant initiatives continued, with new ones added. The SEB Charity Fund, supported by donors, raised €365,756 for children who cannot live with their families in 2025. This year, the SEB Charity Fund celebrates its 20th anniversary. Over this time, the fund has raised 6.1 million euros, supported over 3,500 young people with scholarships, organised nearly 2,000 events, provided 16,000 Christmas gifts to children, and much more.
In October, we signed a cooperation agreement with the Estonian Museum of Natural History to support the completion of the opening exhibition of the new Nature House, both financially and with professional expertise. The contribution of SEB to the project is one of the largest private-sector donations ever made to a museum in Estonia.
SEB Pank Grupp (‘the group’) ended the year 2025 with a profit of 166.9 million euros (compared to 175.0 million euros in 2024). The operating income of the group reached 293.3 million euros (352.7 million euros in 2024) and operating expenses 90.9 million euros (85.0 million euros in 2024). The group increased its net expected credit losses by 1.5 million euros (the respective amount was 5.6 million euros in 2024). The group paid a total of 102.6 million euros (108.0 million euros in 2024) in various taxes to the Estonian state in 2025.
Kristi Jänes
Communications Manager
Marketing and Communications Division
SEB
Tornimäe 2, 15010, Tallinn
Phone +372 665 5399
Mobile +372 5569 0616
Email kristi.janes@seb.ee
