Troubled Danske Bank’s profit slips in wake of money laundering scandal
Danske Bank's profit slipped and it missed its expected dividend target for 2018 as it continues to grapple with a money laundering scandal that has rocked the company.
Net profit for 2018 fell to 15bn (£1.76bn) Danish krone from 20.9bn Danish krone last year, its annual report revealed today.
The bank proposed a dividend of 8.5 Danish krone per share, missing analyst expectations of 8.64 krone.
It said it expected net profit in the range of 14-16bn Danish krone in 2019, in-line with the 15bn expected by analysts for 2019.
Further reading: Danske Bank ends torrid year with second profit warning sending shares to five year lows
The bank issued a profit warning in December, meaning its results today were largely expected.
Danske has been hit by an alleged €200bn (£180bn) money laundering scandal involving so-called non-resident clients at its Estonian branch between 2007 and 2016.
It is facing investigations from Estonian, Danish, British and US authorities.
Interim chief executive Jesper Nielsen said: “Twenty eighteen was a challenging year for Danske Bank. The serious and demanding issue concerning the terminated portfolio of non-resident customers in Estonia triggered justified criticism from our stakeholders and led to a number of changes at management level. We must use the lessons learned from this case to prevent something similar from ever happening again.”
Its shares rose 4.4 per cent this morning to 125.8 Danish krone.