Increase in business volume

The BANK of Greenland achieved a profit before tax of DKK 109.1 million in 2022, compared to DKK 158.9 million in 2021. The result is within the revised guidance from October 2022 of a profit of between DKK 90 and 120 million.

Return on opening equity before tax and dividend was 9.0 % compared to 13.9 % in 2021.

The Bank recommends to the Annual General Meeting that the dividend payment is DKK 20 per share.

Profit before value adjustments and write-downs amounts to MDKK 153.0, compared to MDKK 149.2 in 2021.

Net interest and fee income increased by TDKK 12,552 compared to 2021, amounting to TDKK 351,485.

For the overall year, value adjustment of securities and currencies resulted in a loss of TDKK 39,356 compared to a gain of TDKK 11,219 in 2021.

Impairment of loans, etc. amounted to TDKK 4,523 in 2022, which is TDKK 2,986 higher than in 2021.

Lending increased by 15.1% or TDKK 569,904 in 2022, to TDKK 4,353,585. At the same time, the Bank’s guarantees increased by TDKK 152,660 to TDKK 1,934,125.

The BANK of Greenland's capital ratio amounted to 23.6 at end of 2022, and the Bank has calculated the individual solvency requirement at 11.1%.

Outlook for 2023
Greenland continues to avoid being affected by rising inflation, and even though inflation may rise in 2023, we still expect favourable development in the banking business. Together with the return to positive interest rates, the Bank expects improved core operations in 2023.

On this basis, lending is expected to develop positively towards the end of the year, but with significantly lower growth than in 2022. Deposits are expected to be at the end-2022 level.

Total expenses including depreciation and amortisation are expected to be higher than in 2022. A few increases are expected in the staff area. Administration expenses are also expected to increase, primarily in the IT area and for supplementary staff training.

Uncertainty in the capital markets will affect the Bank’s value adjustments. We nonetheless expect losses and write-downs to remain at a low level, and derived risks related to inflation, rising interest rates and cyclical uncertainty in 2023 are assessed to be covered by the current level of impairment write-downs.

The Bank expects a profit before tax of DKK 130-170 million for 2023. This expectation corresponds to the notification in the stock exchange announcement of 15 December 2022.