OP Pohjola profit falls 18.6% as corporate lending grows

OP Pohjola profit fell 18.6% year on year to EUR 1,396 million in January–September 2026, as lower net interest and investment income, higher owner-customer bonuses and rising expenses outweighed growth in customer business. The Finnish financial group reported the results on October 27, 2026, alongside roughly 10% growth in its corporate loan portfolio.

Key Takeaways

• Stronger fees and insurance results did not offset lower interest and investment income.
• Corporate loans reached EUR 31.1 billion, while the total loan portfolio grew 3%.
• Management expects full-year 2026 operating profit to remain below the 2025 result.

Why OP Pohjola profit declined

Operating profit declined from EUR 1,715 million in the corresponding nine months of 2025. Investment income fell to EUR 234 million from EUR 426 million, while net interest income decreased 4.6% to EUR 1,695 million.

The weaker headline result contrasted with modest growth in customer-business income, which combines net interest income, net commissions and fees, and the insurance service result. That total rose to EUR 2,582 million from EUR 2,559 million. Net commissions and fees increased 16.2% to EUR 700 million, and the insurance service result rose to EUR 188 million from EUR 181 million.

Higher owner-customer benefits also affected earnings. New OP bonuses accrued rose 28.7% to EUR 314 million after the group expanded the programme at the start of 2026. Its explanation of how owner-customers earn OP bonuses describes benefits generated through eligible loans, savings, investments and insurance premiums.

Bonuses deducted from net interest income totalled EUR 230 million, compared with EUR 185 million a year earlier. Excluding those bonuses, net interest income fell 1.8%, showing that the expanded benefits accounted for part, but not all, of the reported decline.

Total expenses rose 6.1% to EUR 1,829 million. President and Group CEO Timo Ritakallio attributed the increase mainly to ICT development investments and higher personnel costs. The cost-to-income ratio worsened to 56.1% from 50.8%.

Lending expands while credit losses remain limited

The total loan portfolio reached EUR 103.2 billion at September 30, up 3% year on year. Corporate loans grew 9.8% to EUR 31.1 billion, while deposits increased 2.8% to EUR 82.0 billion.

Impairment losses on receivables totalled EUR 36 million, compared with a EUR 46 million reversal a year earlier. Non-performing exposures nevertheless declined to about 1.9% of total exposures from about 2.1%. These measures describe different aspects of credit quality: impairment charges affected current earnings even as the share of troubled exposures fell.

Insurance was the only operating business segment to report higher profit. Retail Banking and Corporate Banking both recorded declines, while Group Functions moved into a loss as equity fair-value changes reduced investment income.

The group's CET1 capital ratio stood at 21.4%, exceeding its minimum regulatory requirement by 7.2 percentage points.

Full-year outlook remains below 2025

Management expects operating profit for 2026 to be at a good level but lower than in 2025, when it totalled EUR 2,269 million. This is guidance, not a completed full-year result.

OP Pohjola identified the business environment, capital-market developments and impairment losses on receivables as the main uncertainties affecting earnings.

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