Nordea sees Q2 profits jump 17 %

Nordea, the biggest Nordic bank, on Wednesday announced that its second quarter net profit jumped by 17 percent, beating market expectations. Boosted by business in northern Europe, the bank's net profit stood at 821 million euros ($1.0 billion), substantially higher than the 715 million euros expected by analysts surveyd by Dow Jones Newswires. "Nordea has solid business momentum with a record level of income, strengthened capital position and a return on equity (ROE, a measure of a firm's efficiency) above 12 percent," chief executive Christian Clausen said in a statement. ROE stood at 12.5 percent during the second quarter, compared with 11.7 percent during the first quarter. "We maintained good business momentum and increased return on equity despite continued pressure on interest rates, financial turmoil and the slowdown in European economic activity," he said. Business and income have grown while "costs have remained stable and efficiency in capital, liquidity and funding has increased," he said.