At the beginning of 2023, the Russia-Ukraine war was the conflict that affected Europe the most and that intensified the polarization in world politics. As a nation and as a local community, we stood together, and welcomed Ukrainians who fled their homeland. In October, the world's focus shifted from Ukraine to the Gaza Strip, and the escalation of the long-standing conflict between Palestine and Israel. A complex conflict that engages and divides world opinion, and which creates discord among friends and within families.  

The turbulence in Europe and the Middle East is having ripple effects on the global economy, with higher oil and gas prices, shortages of goods and inflation. In recent years, there has been a decline in Norwegian households' finances, and most have noticed that the cost of living has continued to increase in 2023. Despite this, we find that both private individuals and businesses have the ability and willingness to adapt to the new challenges.

An active and adaptable region

Throughout history, the business community in Northwest Norway has shown decisiveness and the ability to innovate and innovate. Companies have their eyes on the outwards as they adapt to changes in the market and the framework conditions around us.

Our part of the country has an exciting business community that shows positive prospects for the future, which is good news for the entire region and for us.  

At the bank, we follow industry developments closely, and see that economic cycles affect industries differently. The recent upturn in offshore and offshore wind has increased demand for vessels that can be used in both markets, while the situation is more challenging for retail and the construction industry. A weak krone exchange rate is contributing to a number of export industries becoming more competitive, and the seafood sector is one of those experiencing good demand and earnings. Other industries are experiencing a tougher market, but several have built up solvency and liquidity reserves in good economic years to be able to handle uphill battles. Greater certainty that the interest rate peak has been reached may contribute to a pick-up in activity in these industries in 2024 as well. 

Among the lowest housing expenses in the country

According to Statistics Norway's (SSB) survey of living conditions, things are going well in Northwest Norway. While large cities such as Oslo and Stavanger have high house prices and rising rental costs, figures from Statistics Norway show that the inhabitants of Møre og Romsdal have among the lowest housing costs in the country. This means that we who live here have more money left to spend on food, transport, leisure activities, etc. compared to the rest of the country. Lower unemployment in Møre og Romsdal than in the country as a whole also contributes positively to household finances.  

Good advice is crucial in demanding times

Throughout last year, several people contacted us for a review of their own finances, and it was important for us to be out there and encourage people to take action before the problems grew too big. A higher interest rate level combined with an increased cost of living has led to an increased need for advice. But even though more people are noticing financial uncertainty and increased costs, we find that there are still few customers with payment problems. Non-performing loans are still low, and although the proportion of customers applying for instalment deferrals has increased, the number is still moderate. We understand that many people feel worried about their own finances, and we want the threshold for contacting us to be low. With over 200 advisors spread across 27 offices, we are close to the customer, which increases the chance of identifying challenges and taking early action together.  

Taking "Action" 

Economic challenges can affect everyone regardless of social background, which is why we have established a Grep team that can find solutions and take action together with those who are in such situations. The team works especially with those who own a home, who are struggling to pay their fixed expenses and who are seriously worried about their own finances. The offer provided through Grep is for all bank customers and regardless of where you live in the country. Through an established process and refinancing, public debt, unpaid bills and credit card debt are cleaned up. 

Short decision-making paths

The bank and the business community live in a common destiny. We have a long-term perspective and have built a solid partnership with our customers by being present in the ups and downs of the markets. Industry expertise and a specialist environment combined with local knowledge are perceived as valuable to customers, and provide predictability for both parties. We believe that this is part of the reason why we are taking market shares. We have a local presence – we invest in the region, and more people choose to become a customer with us!  

An advantage of having a head office in Northwest Norway is that decisions are made locally. A short distance to decision-makers gives us the power to act, and puts us in a better position to exercise discretion and find good solutions together with our customers. We are present and available to individuals and companies, and we believe that relationships and proximity are part of the glue between us and our 127,000 active customers. The numbers for 2023 also speak volumes; We are gaining market share and have good growth in lending and deposits.  

Opened new offices and strengthened business investment

The focus on increased activity and growth is yielding results. In November, the bank opened a new office at Majorstuen in Oslo, in a market area that covers our second largest customer group – emigrants from Møre og Romsdal. The establishment has been well received in the market. Although we are the market leader in Northwest Norway, we have areas here at home where we want to be even more strongly present.  

In the spring of 2024, we will open our newest office, office no. 28, in the county's fourth largest municipality – Hustadvika. 

We have also seen the business potential in Nordmøre and Romsdal, and therefore we have chosen to invest even more strongly in these areas with dedicated business departments in both Kristiansund and Molde. We are already noticing that the change is resulting in greater activity and an increased supply of new customers.  

New services and a simplified everyday life

Making everyday life easier for our customers is a high priority and an issue we challenge each other on a daily basis. Simplification and digitalisation free up time and resources that can be spent on more value-creating activities for both us and our customers. One result of this is the collaboration on the "start-up package" with Conta AS, which halves the time it takes to start a business. The service offers company establishment, banking and accounting in one package well tied together with personal advice from Næringsbasen – one of the bank's latest advisory offerings.

More and more people are ditching their wallets and paying with their phones or watches, and in December we launched Apple Pay, much to the delight of our mobile banking customers who have iPhones. Shortly after, in February 2024, we launched Google Pay, bringing the same capabilities to our customers who have an Android phone.

From words to action - sustainability in practice

For the third year in a row, the bank topped EPSI Norway's carrying capacity index. About 6000 bank customers throughout the country gave their assessment of the banks' sustainability efforts, and here Sparebanken Møre received the best score of all, both from private customers and corporate customers. In the survey, our customers expressed that the bank is doing what it can to contribute to positive development, and has helped them with tips and advice on how they can work actively with sustainability. Such feedback is motivating. It is important to convey that sustainability is not only about climate and the environment, but also social conditions, and good governance and control. The restructuring we have to go through will be demanding, and will also have consequences for several companies' business models. We clearly see that capital is seeking green purposes, and in the future we will probably see more products and services that we do not know what they are today.  

Community involvement 

Last year, we received over 2000 applications for everything from support for instruments, kits, investment in elite sports and grassroots sports to beach clean-ups, theater projects, festivals, work with exclusion, Newton rooms and food boxes. As much as NOK 200 million of the bank's profits were set aside for good causes that will contribute to making it a good place to live in our region. Figures from 2022 show that the savings bank sector distributed between NOK 2 – 2.5 billion to socially beneficial purposes, and is one of Norway's largest private contributors to sports, culture and volunteering. Although allocations to sports and major events are most visible, the work on exclusion in all forms is equally important in the distribution of the funds. The collaboration with, among others, Dale Oen Academy gives school-bored young people who do not fit into regular classrooms a chance. Their slogan "We don't give grades. We build character." is about building faith in oneself and life.  

We are the sum of our employees

Life in the bank is a society in miniature. Among our colleagues we find financial advisors, lawyers, real estate agents, economists, mathematicians, economists, social workers, educators, statisticians and engineers. We are the largest financial house between Bergen and Trondheim, and last year we welcomed a total of 65 new colleagues to us. The response from our new colleagues is that we are a very attractive workplace both because of a good working environment and opportunities for professional challenges. These are the people who help shape the bank's strategy and who go the extra mile to achieve our goals. The effort they put into the work is the reason why we are at the top of the country in terms of customer satisfaction, loyalty and reputation in the national bank survey EPSI, and the reason why we have been named Norway's best customer center in the category of bank for the fifth year in a row.  

We are the sum of what we are together, and that makes me proud of what we achieve, and confident that we will succeed in the future.

Trond Lars Nydal

Managing Director