Morrow Bank delivered another solid quarter with profit before tax of NOK 72
million, up 7% from the previous quarter and 50% year-on-year.
Commenting on the results, Morrow Bank's CEO Øyvind Oanes said:
"With a highly scalable banking platform in place, Morrow Bank delivered
improvements across all KPIs in Q3 - which was very much line with our
previously stated ambitions. Most remarkably, we managed to grow our loan
balance by around 25% while reducing our cost base. The backdrop is that we now
leverage our streamlined platform, as it enables us to further automate
processes and increase scalability."
Highlights of the quarter:
Strong growth
o Gross loan up 24.6% from Q2 2024 driven by organic demand and loan portfolio
acquisitions
o All-time-high total income of NOK 321 million, up 5.2% quarter-on-quarter amid
stable yields
Improved cost efficiency
o Cost/income ratio at industry-leading 25.7% (26.3%) enabled by a scalable
banking platform
o Underlying cost level reduced as increased automation enabled ~13% FTEs
reduction in Q3
Improved loan loss ratio
o Loan loss ratio declined for the third quarter in a row to 4.8% (5.1%)
o Driven by stricter credit policies implemented in 2023 and a maturing loan
book
Increased profitability
o Profit before tax up 7% to NOK 72 million
o Return on equity of 9.0% (8.5%) and return on target equity of 10.1% (9.7%)
Updated ambitions, outlook for excess capital generation from 2025
o Medium-term targets extended to year-end 2026 (vs year-end 2025), now
targeting annualised organic loan growth of 5% (10%), cost/income ratio of 23%
(26%) and return on target equity of 12-14% (10-12%)
o Current business plan set to generate excess capital from 2025