(Bloomberg) -- Swedish financial services group NOBA Bank Group AB has identified “several exciting opportunities for expansion” in the Nordic region, according to Chief Executive Officer Jacob Lundblad.
The Stockholm-based bank, which in the summer said it was evaluating an initial public offering, sees “great potential” to grow its secured product offering and launch products aimed at small and medium-sized companies, the CEO said in the firm’s earnings report.
“We are looking to expand with mortgages in Finland and equity-release products in Norway,” Lundblad said in an interview. Further out, the bank plans to focus on “SME lending initially with a focus on S, where the market opportunity is huge.”
NOBA, owned by Nordic Capital and Sampo Oyj, had lined up banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Carnegie Investment Bank AB to work on a potential IPO, Bloomberg reported in August. The specialist bank could be valued as high as €4 billion ($4.2 billion) in a listing, according to people familiar with the matter.
“The strategic review is ongoing with our owners and there is no set timeline yet for the listing,” Lundblad said.
On Friday, the bank reported operating profit of 807 million kronor ($73.6 million) for the third quarter, compared with 373 million kronor a year ago. Its loan portfolio increased by 13% to 121.2 billion kronor. The group’s brands include Nordax Bank, Bank Norwegian and Svensk Hypotekspension.
“We are positively geared toward lower rates which is different from high street banks,” the CEO said, also citing lower costs and credit losses for the growth in profit.
(Upates with CEO interview comments.)
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