Stock and press releases

DNB Bank ASA (“DNB”) has agreed to sell JSC Commercial Bank DNB Bank (“DNB Russia”), comprising all of DNB’s operations in Russia, to Asokerco Trading Limited LLC (beneficiary owner is Mikail Shishkhanov - majority shareholder of B&N Bank (JSC)). 

The terms of the transaction are not disclosed. 

DNB Russia is a regional leader in Murmansk with strong market share in retail and corporate banking.  The sale is in line with DNB’s strategy to focus its operations, optimize the use of capital and increase profitability.  Through this acquisition, B&N Bank will establish a footprint in Murmansk adding to its expanding outreach across the Russian Federation.    

The transaction remains subject to the relevant regulatory approval.

Societe Generale acted as exclusive financial adviser to DNB.  Allen & Overy was the legal adviser to DNB while Norton Rose Fulbright was B&N Bank’s legal adviser.

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07:30 CET – result release
DNB’s 1Q 2014 results will be released at 07:30 am CET on Thursday, 8 May 2014, and we would like to invite you to the following presentations:

09:30 CET – press conference & live web-TV
A press conference (in Norwegian) will be held on Thursday, 8 May at 9:30 am CET at DNB’s head office in Bjørvika, Dronning Eufemias gate 30, Oslo. For those who are unable to attend the presentation in Bjørvika, there will be a live web-TV broadcast of the conference (in Norwegian). For further information, please visit www.dnb.no/ir. Please register your attendance in Oslo at [email protected]

14:00 CET – investors and analyst conference call & phone-cast
A conference call for analysts will be held on Thursday, 8 May at 2:00 pm CET.
To attend the conference call we kindly ask you to dial in 10 minutes before start +47 21 56 33 18 or international: +44 (0) 20 3003 2666. Password: DNB2014. You can also attend the call by listen only mode at the phone-cast link at the following link: http://presenter.qbrick.com/?presentationGuid=4b2cae30-1c42-4edb-a19a-12289bcf11a7

A replay of the phone-cast will be available after the call. More details on the conference call can be found on our website www.dnb.no/ir.

Friday 9 May 0745 for 0800 GMT – analyst breakfast meeting in London
An analyst breakfast meeting will be held in London on Friday, 9 May at 0745 am for 0800 am start (local time) at Deutsche Bank’s London Branch, Garden House Dining Rooms, 23 Great Winchester Street, London EC2N 2DB. Please register your attendance in London: [email protected]

Contact
For further information, please contact:
Per Sagbakken, head of Investor Relations, phone +47 23 26 84 00 or
Jan Erik Gjerland, e-mail: [email protected], phone +47 23 26 84 08.

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DNB has decided to decrease its deposit and lending rates.

The decrease encompasses floating rate loans and deposits, for the retail sector. Lending rates will be decreased by up to 0.25 percentage points and by up to 0.40 percentage points for deposits. The new prices will be effective immediately for new loans and mid-June for existing loans and deposits.

The financial effect of the rate decrease is expected to be neutral.

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For further information for investors: Jan Erik Gjerland (+47 23 26 84 08).
For further information for media: GEPV Corporate Communications Thomas Midteide (+47 962 32 017)

On 2 April 2014, DNB Livsforsikring ASA received a letter from Finanstilsynet (the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway) regarding "Guidelines for the strengthening of reserves and the use of surplus returns to cover higher provisions within group pension insurance".

According to the letter, DNB Livsforsikring can use surplus returns above the guaranteed rate of return to finance the required increase in reserves to reflect higher life expectancy for a period of seven years starting in 2014, which is two years longer than in Finanstilsynet’s original plan.

Based on DNB Livsforsikring’s current capital management strategy, expected returns over the next three years will be in the range of 4.5-5.0 per cent for paid-up policies and just over 4.0 per cent for defined-benefit pensions. Customers’ share of provisions for higher life expectancy in the public sector occupational pension market was almost fully financed at year-end 2013.

Thus, only the shareholder contribution remains. If the expected returns are achieved throughout the escalation period, the shareholder contribution will represent approximately 36 per cent of the total required increase in reserves of NOK 13.3 billion. This is higher than the 20 per cent shareholder contribution which the Norwegian Ministry of Finance found to be reasonable and which has been used in DNB Livsforsikring’s investor communication. 36 per cent represents approximately NOK 4.8 billion (or approximately NOK 0.7 billion per year), while 20 per cent represented approximately NOK 2.6 billion. Thus, the shareholder contribution will increase by some NOK 2.2 billion (or by approximately NOK 0.3 billion per year).

The table below shows estimated shareholder contributions based on various levels of return. As a result of the decision to wind up public sector occupational pension operations, a shareholder contribution totalling approximately NOK 0.3 billion will be charged to the accounts before year-end 2015, of which NOK 0.1 billion will be charged to the income statement for the first quarter of 2014. With respect to paid-up policies and defined-benefit pensions, the shareholder contribution will be charged to the income statement on a straight-line basis during the seven-year period, provided that annual returns are stable.

Future returns determine the size of the shareholder contribution. The table below shows sensitivities based on different levels of return for paid-up policies and defined-benefit pensions in the corporate market, taking account of the NOK 0.3 billion shareholder contribution for public market operations, but not the former shareholder contribution of NOK 0.3 billion for paid-up policies.

1)     Including loss of profitsharing in Paid-ups.

In light of Solvency II, DNB Livsforsikring will remain a well capitalised company and be on schedule to reaching a solvency ratio in excess of 100 per cent once Solvency II is implemented on 1 January 2016.

Further details about the sub-portfolios will be available on DNB’s IR-website www.dnb.no/ir.

For further information, please contact:

Anders Skjævestad, CEO, DNB Livsforsikring AS, tel. (+47) 934 07403

Jan Erik Gjerland, Investor Relations, tel: (+47) 23 26 84 08

In the first quarter of 2014, the DNB Group will record a negative effect of basis swaps connected to funding of approximately NOK 596 million.

In the first quarter of 2013, there was a negative effect of basis swaps of NOK 233 million.

Basis swaps are derivative contracts entered into in connection with long-term funding in international capital markets where the relevant currency is converted to Norwegian kroner. These swaps are hedging instruments, and over the lifetime of the derivatives the mark-to-market adjustments will have zero effect.

For further information, please contact Investor Relations in DNB:
Per Sagbakken: +47 23268400
Jan Erik Gjerland: +47 23268408

Finanstilsynet (the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway) received a letter from the Ministry of Finance Thursday 27 March 2014 in the evening issued guidelines for the escalation plans for reserve strengthening for higher life expectancy.

The letter contained information that surplus return in one contract cannot be used to strengthen reserves on other contracts (“non-solidarity-principal"). Likewise it said that life insurance companies should contribute at least 20 percent of the increased reserve strengthening. The Ministry said that the escalation plans for the life companies shall be determined so that the contribution from shareholders is reasonable, i.e. assumptions about at least 20 percent shareholder contribution and that the length of the escalation plans must increase for the shareholders contribution to remain unchanged.

With respect to provisions for higher life expectancy, DNB Livsforsikring has applied for a 15-year escalation period if the solidarity principle was not approved. A 15-year escalation period is expected to result in a shareholder contribution of approximately 20 per cent, which is roughly the same as if a 5­-year escalation period and the solidarity principle had been applied.

DNB Livsforsikring’s total reserve strengthening requirement is NOK 13.3 billion, of of which approx. NOK 5.5bn is reserved as of 31.12.2013. DNB Livsforsikring will come with further information when the escalation plans from Finanstilsynet are available.

For further information, please contact:
Anders Skjævestad, CEO, DNB Livsforsikring ASA, tel. (+47) 934 07403
Jan Erik Gjerland, Investor Relations, tel: (+47) 23 26 84 08