DNB has raised its profitability goals, setting a return on equity target above 15 per cent and a cost/income ratio below 38 per cent for the 2029 financial year, the bank said as it held its Capital Markets Day on 10 November 2026. It aims to deliver the new targets by year-end 2028.
The common equity Tier 1 (CET1) target stays above 16.3 per cent and the payout ratio above 50 per cent, with an ambition to increase the nominal dividend per share every year. DNB also has an ambition for annual lending growth of 3 to 4 per cent over time and growth in net commission and fee income of more than 9 per cent a year through the cycle.
A TWO-STEP PATH TO 2029
The bank is not dropping its current goals at once. Its existing targets, a return on equity of more than 14 per cent and a cost/income ratio below 40 per cent, will continue for the 2027 and 2028 financial years, with gradual progress towards the new levels over the period, DNB said.
DNB said it had delivered strong results and profitable growth since its previous Capital Markets Day in 2024. It will continue to develop its customer solutions through a wide range of advisory services and the use of technology and artificial intelligence, and will increase capital-light income leading up to 2029.
“DNB has a strong position, and over time we have proven that we deliver on our financial targets,” Group Chief Executive Officer Kjerstin Braathen said. “With DNB Carnegie, our Nordic offering has become more wide-ranging and powerful, and we have new opportunities to create value for our customers throughout the Group.”
WHERE THE BANK STARTS FROM
The third-quarter figures show the distance to the new goals. DNB made a profit after tax of NOK 9.8 billion in the quarter, 7.9 per cent less than a year earlier, with a return on equity of 14.5 per cent and a cost/income ratio of 39.8 per cent. Both measures had weakened from the same quarter of 2025.
The CET1 ratio of 17.3 per cent in the third quarter was above the unchanged target of above 16.3 per cent. In fee businesses, income from investment banking reached NOK 1.1 billion in the third quarter, 44 per cent more than a year earlier, and assets under management in its mutual fund solutions reached NOK 1,849 billion.
COSTS, PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY
DNB is already carrying out workforce reductions in Technology & Services, as announced to the stock exchange on 6 October 2026, and expects restructuring costs of about NOK 225 million, to be recognised in the fourth quarter of 2026.
THE TGB VIEW
DNB Bank ranks 33rd in Europe in the TGB Bank Rankings, with US$366.6 billion of total assets and a return on equity of 14.8% for 2025. Of the Nordic lenders Nordea, Swedbank, SEB, Danske Bank and Handelsbanken, only Nordea's 14.9% was higher; Swedbank had 14.5%, SEB 13.5%, Danske Bank 12.7% and Handelsbanken 11.9%. A target above 15% therefore asks DNB to beat the 2025 return of every one of those five peers, while its third-quarter cost/income ratio of 39.8% still sits closer to the existing 40% ceiling than to the new 38% goal.
Related: Norway's DNB Bank delivers Q2 profit of NOK 9.8 billion with return on equity of 14.6%
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