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Bigbank's loan portfolio grew by 55 million euros in April, representing the highest monthly increase so far this year. The growth continues to be driven by key products: the corporate loan portfolio increased by 26 million euros, and the home loan portfolio increased by 20 million euros. The consumer loan portfolio grew by 9 million euros.
The deposit portfolio decreased by a total of 12 million euros in April. The larger liquidity buffer accumulated in the first quarter enabled continued optimisation of deposit pricing across all Bigbank markets during April. As a result, the volume of term deposits declined by 50 million euros, while the volume of savings deposits increased by 37 million euros. As the interest rates on term and savings deposits have decreased, customers are increasingly opting for the more flexible savings deposit product when placing new deposits.
Net interest income at the end of April was 0.6 million euros, or 2%, lower year-on-year. On the interest income side, the growing loan portfolio has so far been sufficient to offset the lower income resulting from the decline in Euribor. However, interest expenses have grown at a slightly faster pace, as the drop in deposit interest rates has lagged behind the decline in Euribor and the deposit portfolio has expanded.
One of the most positive developments in April was that the net allowance for expected credit losses remained significantly lower than in the same period last year. This is mainly due to improved repayment behaviour in the consumer loan portfolios of the Baltic countries. Despite the significant growth in the loan portfolio, the net allowance for expected credit losses and provision expenses decreased by a total of 4.2 million euros, or 42%, in the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2024.
Net profit in April amounted to 3.0 million euros - a solid result considering the continued decline in interest rates. It is also encouraging that the lower net interest income compared to last year has been compensated by lower expected credit losses, reduced administrative expenses, and growing net fee income. One of the key contributors to the strong performance is Bigbank's dedicated and expanding team. At the same time, the growing team has increased salary expenses by 1.3 million euros over the four-month period. A negative development has been the 1.1 million euro increase in income tax expenses over the same period, mainly due to higher income tax rates introduced in Estonia and Lithuania at the beginning of 2025.
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Bigbank's key financial indicators for April 2025:
- Customer deposits and loans received increased by 358 million euros over the year, reaching 2.55 billion euros (+16%).
- Loans to customers grew by 573 million euros year-on-year, reaching 2.37 billion euros (+32%).
- Net interest income totalled 8.4 million euros in April; the four-month total reached 34.0 million euros. Compared to the same period last year, net interest income declined by 0.6 million euros (-2%).
- Net allowance for expected credit losses and provision expenses totalled 5.8 million euros in the first four months of the year, down 4.2 million euros or 42% year-on-year.
- Net profit in April was 3.0 million euros. Cumulative profit for the first four months amounted to 12.9 million euros, an increase of 3.6 million euros or 38% compared to the same period in 2024.
- Return on equity in April was 13.4%.
| Income statement, in thousands of euros | Apr 2025 | YTD25 | YTD24 | Difference YoY | |
| Total net operating income, incl. | 9,082 | 38,236 | 37,598 | 638 | +2% |
| Net interest income | 8,384 | 33,958 | 34,592 | -634 | -2% |
| Net fee and commission income | 853 | 3,376 | 2,901 | 475 | +16% |
| Total expenses, incl. | -4,131 | -16,485 | -16,421 | -64 | +0% |
| Salaries and associated charges | -2,517 | -9,993 | -8,734 | -1,259 | +14% |
| Administrative expenses | -898 | -3,650 | -4,943 | 1,293 | -26% |
| Profit before loss allowances | 4,951 | 21,751 | 21,177 | 574 | +3% |
| Net allowance for expected credit losses and provision expenses | -1,178 | -5,813 | -9,965 | 4,152 | -42% |
| Income tax expense | -737 | -3,038 | -1,892 | -1,146 | +61% |
| Profit for the period from continuing operations | 3,036 | 12,900 | 9,320 | 3,580 | +38% |
| Profit or loss before tax from discounted operations | 0 | 0 | 29 | -29 | |
| Profit for the period | 3,036 | 12,900 | 9,349 | 3,551 | +38% |
| Business volumes, in thousands of euros | Apr 2025 | YTD25 | YTD24 | Difference YoY | |
| Customer deposits and loans received | 2,548,170 | 2,548,170 | 2,190,221 | 357,949 | +16% |
| Loans to customers | 2,367,531 | 2,367,531 | 1,794,458 | 573,073 | +32% |
| Key figures | Apr 2025 | YTD25 | YTD24 | Difference YoY | |
| ROE | 13.4% | 14.2% | 11.4% | +2.8pp | |
| Cost / income ratio (C/I) | 45.5% | 43.1% | 43.7% | -0.6pp | |
| Net promoter score (NPS) | 59 | 58 | 58 | +0 | |
Compared to the financial results published for April 2024, the net interest income and the net allowance for expected credit losses for the prior period have been adjusted, both reduced by 0.6 million euros. The adjustment is related to an identified error, where interest income from impaired financial assets had been accrued on the gross exposure rather than on a net basis. This correction does not impact the net profit for April 2024.
Bigbank AS (www.bigbank.eu), with over 30 years of operating history, is a commercial bank owned by Estonian capital. As of 30 April 2025, the bank's total assets amounted to 2.9 billion euros, with equity of 274 million euros. Operating in nine countries, the bank serves more than 170,000 active customers and employs over 550 people. The credit rating agency Moody's has assigned Bigbank a long-term bank deposit rating of Ba1, along with a baseline credit assessment (BCA) and an adjusted BCA of Ba2.
Argo Kiltsmann
Member of the Management Board
Telephone: +372 5393 0833
Email: [email protected]
