Bigbank's total gross loan portfolio reached a record high of 2.44 billion euros by the end of the quarter, up 141 million euros (+6%) quarter on quarter and 537 million euros (+28%) year on year, driven by the strategic product lines of business loans and home loans. Growth in the consumer loan portfolio was more modest. During the quarter, the business loan portfolio increased by 54 million euros (+7%) to 862 million euros, the home loan portfolio by 53 million euros (+8%) to 717 million euros and the consumer loan portfolio by 19 million euros (+2%) to 860 million euros. For the first time in Bigbank's history, business loans also became the largest credit product line in terms of portfolio size.
On the deposit side, the savings deposit portfolio recorded strong growth in the second quarter, increasing by 154 million euros to 1.3 billion euros (+13%). However, the term deposit portfolio decreased by 59 million euros to 1.34 billion euros during the quarter. The stabilising interest rate environment has made the interest rates on more flexible savings deposits competitive with those on term deposits. Therefore, many depositors have opted for savings deposits when their term deposits have matured. At the end of the second quarter, the current accounts opened for retail customers in Estonia totalled 3.4 million euros. All current account holders earn interest at the rate of 2%, the best available on the market. The Group's total deposit portfolio grew by 96 million euros (+4%) quarter on quarter and by 393 million euros (+17%) year on year, reaching 2.65 billion euros.
Bigbank's net profit for the first six months of 2025 was 18.7 million euros. Net profit for the same period in 2024 was 15.8 million euros. In the second quarter, Bigbank's net profit amounted to 8.9 million euros, down 0.5 million euros from the second quarter of 2024 (-5%). In the second quarter, Bigbank's profit before income tax amounted to 11.5 million euros, up 0,3 million euros from the second quarter of 2024 (+3%).
Interest income grew quarter on quarter, because the growth in the loan portfolio had a stronger impact than the decrease in interest rates during the year. Interest income for the second quarter amounted to 45.2 million euros, an increase of 1.8 million euros (+4%) year on year. Due to the growth of the deposit portfolio and an increase in the volume of bonds issued, interest expense grew by 0.6 million euros (+3%) to 19.5 million euros. As a result, Bigbank's net interest income grew by 1.2 million euros (+5%) year on year to 25.7 million euros.
The quality of the loan portfolio continued to improve in the second quarter: the net allowance for expected credit losses and provisions totalled 1.4 million euros, down 4.4 million euros year on year. This positive trend is mostly attributable to an improvement in the quality of the consumer loan portfolio in all three Baltic countries. The credit quality of home loans remained very good, while that of the business loan portfolio was stable. The share of stage 3 (non-performing) loans decreased by 3.8 million euros in the second quarter, accounting for 4.7% of the total loan portfolio at the end of the quarter (-0.4 pp from the end of the first quarter). The relatively high share of stage 3 loans is mainly due to a small number of larger loans which are well secured and therefore do not increase expected credit loss expenses.
Bigbank's strong team, which is the driving force behind growing business volumes, continued to expand. At the end of the second quarter of 2025, Bigbank had 613 employees: 378 in Estonia, 102 in Lithuania, 91 in Latvia, 22 in Finland, 15 in Bulgaria and 5 in Sweden. Salary expenses for the second quarter totalled 8.2 million euros, up 1.8 million euros year on year (+28%).
The second quarter saw significant progress in the development of everyday banking products. At the beginning of the quarter, Bigbank became a direct member of the SEPA Credit Transfer scheme. This enabled the Group to become fully independent of other financial intermediaries in the euro area. Bigbank has been a direct member of the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme, enabling it to make instant payments independently, since 2024. Another significant milestone was reached at the end of June with the launch of the Bigbank mobile app. Initially made available to retail customers of the Estonian business unit, the modern and convenient app is expected to be launched in Lithuania and Latvia in the coming quarters.
The value of the Group's investment property portfolio was 72.3 million euros at the end of the second quarter. A significant change to the property portfolio was the decrease in the value of the agricultural land in Estonia, which fell by 1.7 million euros (around 5%) due to an overall decline in transaction prices in the market during the quarter.
Two bond issues also took place in the second quarter. In May, Bigbank issued Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds totalling 2.44 million euros, thereby increasing its Additional Tier 1 capital by the same amount. In June, Bigbank carried out the first in a series of public unsecured subordinated bond offerings (T2) under a new programme. Due to strong investor interest, Bigbank increased the volume of the T2 bond offering from 3 million euros to 6 million euros, thereby raising its Tier 2 capital by the same amount.
In the second quarter, Moody's Ratings affirmed all of the ratings and assessments that it had assigned to Bigbank AS last year.
- Long-term and short-term deposit ratings: Ba1/NP
- Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and Adjusted BCA: ba2
- Long-term and short-term Counterparty Risk Ratings: Baa2/P-2
- Long-term and short-term Counterparty Risk Assessments: Baa2(cr)/P-2(cr)
The outlook on the bank's long-term deposit rating was revised from stable to negative.
After the reporting date and before this report was authorised for issue, Bigbank received the decision of the Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority of 7 July 2025, which waived the previously applied minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities. According to the requirement, the Group had to maintain a minimum ratio of own funds and eligible liabilities to total risk exposure amount (TREA) of 12.49%. Bigbank complied with this requirement throughout its effective term and would be able to continue to do so in the future. There is no new minimum ratio requirement set by Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority.
| Income statement, in thousands of euros | Q2 2025 | Q2 2024 | 6M 2025 | 6M 2024 |
| Net interest income | 25,773 | 24,464 | 51,336 | 50,021 |
| Net fee and commission income | 2,550 | 2,245 | 5,073 | 4,409 |
| Net income (loss) on financial assets | 694 | 2,007 | 2,645 | 3,078 |
| Net other operating income | -1,120 | -977 | -2,015 | -1,826 |
| Total net operating income | 27,897 | 27,739 | 57,039 | 55,682 |
| Salaries and associated charges | -8,258 | -6,351 | -15,735 | -12,763 |
| Administrative expenses | -2,875 | -2,285 | -5,626 | -5,954 |
| Depreciation, amortisation and impairment | -2,176 | -2,100 | -4,313 | -4,152 |
| Other gains (losses) | -1,796 | 1,090 | -1,782 | -1,329 |
| Total expenses | -15,105 | -9,646 | -27,456 | -24,198 |
| Profit before loss allowances | 12,792 | 18,093 | 29,583 | 31,484 |
| Net expected credit loss allowances | -1,289 | -6,811 | -5,924 | -12,531 |
| Profit before income tax | 11,503 | 11,282 | 23,659 | 18,953 |
| Income tax expense | -2,616 | -1,857 | -4,917 | -3,132 |
| Profit for the period from continuing operations | 8,887 | 9,425 | 18,742 | 15,821 |
| Profit from discontinued operations | 0 | 8 | 0 | 29 |
| Profit for the period | 8,887 | 9,433 | 18,742 | 15,850 |
| Statement of financial position, in thousands of euros | 30 June 2025 | 31 March 2025 | 31 Dec 2024 | 30 June 2024 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 468,770 | 487,160 | 448,661 | 626,081 |
| Debt securities at FVOCI | 42,508 | 49,431 | 22,334 | 9,907 |
| Loans to customers | 2,438,608 | 2,297,987 | 2,196,482 | 1,902,001 |
| Other assets | 109,143 | 109,603 | 110,939 | 89,255 |
| Total assets | 3,059,029 | 2,944,181 | 2,778,416 | 2,627,244 |
| Customer deposits and loans received | 2,656,328 | 2,560,513 | 2,401,689 | 2,264,137 |
| Subordinated notes | 104,147 | 95,943 | 91,668 | 88,148 |
| Other liabilities | 17,871 | 16,885 | 15,290 | 22,113 |
| Total liabilities | 2,778,346 | 2,673,341 | 2,508,647 | 2,374,398 |
| Equity | 280,683 | 270,840 | 269,769 | 252,846 |
| Total liabilities and equity | 3,059,029 | 2,944,181 | 2,778,416 | 2,627,244 |
Compared to the unaudited financial results published for Q2 2024, the net interest income and the net allowance for expected credit losses for the first six months of 2024 have been adjusted, both reduced by 1.3 million euros. The adjustment is related to an identified error, where interest income from impaired financial assets had been accrued on the gross exposure of the financial assets, rather than on net basis. This correction does not impact the net profit for the first six months of 2024.
Commentary by Martin Länts, chairman of the management board of Bigbank AS:
In the second quarter of 2025, Bigbank continued its strong growth across all core business areas, bringing the consolidated total assets above the 3-billion-euro mark for the first time. The growth of the loan portfolio lifted its volume beyond 2.4 billion euros, representing an increase of nearly one-third year on year. Strategic segments such as business loans and home loans continued to drive growth.
Alongside loan portfolio growth, its quality also improved. The net allowance for expected credit losses and provisions decreased by more than fourfold compared to the same period last year, totalling 1.4 million euros in the second quarter. This positive change is mainly attributable to improvements in the credit quality of the Baltic consumer loan portfolios, which also supported growth in the bank's net profit. Net profit for the first half of 2025 was 18.7 million euros, of which 8.9 million euros were earned in the second quarter.
The deposit portfolio also continued to grow both year on year and quarter on quarter. The primary growth driver was the savings deposit segment, the volume of which has reached a similar level as term deposits, totalling nearly 1.3 billion euros at the end of the second quarter. People have become increasingly active in searching for interest-bearing options for their funds, finding an attractive opportunity in Bigbank's savings deposit product, but increasingly also in our current accounts.
As the first bank in Estonia, we offer all current account holders the opportunity to earn 2% interest on their account balances while maintaining daily access to their funds. Although our current accounts have only recently been launched in Estonia, we already see that more than 25% of our retail banking customers of the business unit have opened an account. We will continue expanding our daily banking functionalities, an important milestone of which was the launch of the Bigbank mobile app at the end of June. We also plan to roll out current account services to the Latvian and Lithuanian markets in the coming quarters.
In May and June, we successfully completed two bond issues. Both transactions support the continued rapid growth of the bank, ensure compliance with regulatory capital requirements, and facilitate further expansion of our home loan and business loan portfolios.
We thank all investors, partners, and customers of Bigbank for your trust, which enables us to grow our business volumes and create long-term value.
Bigbank AS (www.bigbank.eu), with over 30 years of operating history, is a commercial bank owned by Estonian capital. As of 30 June 2025, the bank's total assets amounted to 3.1 billion euros, with equity of 281 million euros. Operating in nine countries, the bank serves more than 174,000 active customers and employs over 600 people. The credit rating agency Moody's has assigned Bigbank a long-term bank deposit rating of Ba1, along with a baseline credit assessment (BCA) and an adjusted BCA of Ba2.
Argo Kiltsmann
Member of the Management Board
Telephone: +372 5393 0833
Email: argo.kiltsmann@bigbank.ee
www.bigbank.ee
