Morrow Bank delivered another quarter with growth and operational improvements
in Q4 2023.
Commenting on the results, Morrow Bank's CEO Øyvind Oanes said:
"Q4 2023 marked another quarter with healthy growth and improved efficiency. We
are pleased to see that a large portion of new loans now have both higher yield
and lower risk than older loans. As we conclude 2023, we have delivered on the
roadmap and ambitions we set in Q1 2022. We've grown the loan book by more than
50%, reduced the cost/income ratio to highly competitive levels below 30% and
we've managed to keep the net interest margin stable amid a challenging macro
backdrop."
Highlights of the quarter:
Solid loan growth
o Underlying loan balance growth of 4% (5% in Q3), year-end balance at NOK ~12
billion
o 22% growth y-o-y as better customer processes and automation have driven
throughput
Improved margins
o Net interest margin up 0.2%p in Q4 driven by extensive pricing measures
o Total income surpassed NOK 1 billion in 2023, up 30% y-o-y
Improved cost efficiency
o Operating expenses remained stable at NOK ~80 million in Q4 (NOK 78 million in
Q3)
o ~20% normalised cost reduction y-o-y driven by cost efficiency initiatives:
C/I at 28% in Q4
Credit risk control
o Loan loss ratio at 5.4%, up 0.4%p in Q4 driven by macro and growth
o Increase more than offset by income growth both in quarter and y-o-y
Profitability maintained
o Profit after tax of NOK 35 million (NOK 36), impacted by NOK 4 million higher
tax expense