Leading commercial banks in Estonia see their profits fall in 2025
Swedbank and SEB posted lower profits in 2025, earning €261 million and €166.9 million respectively, as interest income declined and costs rose for both banks.
Swedbank Estonia reported a net profit of €261 million for 2025. Compared to 2024, this marks a decrease of €96 million, the country's largest commercial bank announced.
Revenue declined by €105 million, primarily due to a drop in interest income. Net interest income decreased by €99 million, which the bank attributed to lower market interest rates and loan margins.
Fee and commission income fell by €8 million year-over-year, mainly due to changes in the pricing of service packages in the final quarter of 2024.
Expenses rose by €28 million, driven mainly by higher personnel costs, support activities, expenses related to the new headquarters and services purchased from within the Swedbank Group. This included increased costs and investments related to digital solutions. Over the course of the year, Swedbank also expanded its team of fraud prevention experts.
In 2025, Swedbank Estonia issued €1.17 billion in new loans to private individuals and €1.70 billion to businesses. The total volume of loans issued in Estonia surpassed €11 billion in the fall of 2025, reaching an all-time high.
Swedbank AS, together with its subsidiaries and group entities operating in Estonia, paid €99 million in corporate income tax and €71 million in labor taxes in 2025, making it one of the country's largest contributors of labor-related taxes. In total, Swedbank paid €201 million in taxes to the state over the year.
SEB profit shrinks less
The SEB Bank Group ended 2025 with a profit of €166.9 million, slightly below the €175 million it earned in 2024, making it Estonia's second-largest bank by profit.
The group's operating income totaled €293.3 million, down from €352.7 million in 2024, while operating expenses reached €90.9 million, up from €85.0 million the year before. The group increased its net expected credit losses by €1.5 million in 2025, whereas in 2024, it had reduced them by €5.6 million.
In total, SEB Group paid €102.6 million in various taxes to the Estonian state in 2025, compared to €108.0 million in 2024.
Allan Parik, chair of SEB Estonia's management board, commented on the group's results in Estonia: "Banking last year was influenced by the stabilization of the Euribor and markets expect the six-month Euribor to remain between 2.1 and 2.5 percent this year. This means we have returned to an economic environment where borrowing has become more favorable and people are increasingly considering investment alongside saving."
SEB issued nearly €2.1 billion in new loans and leases in Estonia last year — €1.3 billion to businesses and nearly €800 million to private individuals. The bank financed the purchase of 5,129 homes and supported 5,510 business plans. The corporate loan portfolio grew by 9.5 percent year-over-year, while the private loan portfolio increased by 7.2 percent.
This year, SEB aims to prepare for the merger of its banks in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with the goal of operating as a larger, stronger and more efficient bank by 2027 to better support clients' growth plans. The merger will create the strongest bank in the Baltic region in terms of capital base and financing capacity, Parik said.
SEB's new regional headquarters will be located in Tallinn.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
