Arion banki hf. (ARION_SDB) Q4 2025 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

And welcome to this presentation for the fourth quarter and full year results of 2025 for the Arion Group. My name is Benedikt Gislason. I'm the CEO of Arion. Today's agenda is as follows. I'll start by walking you through the key highlights. Then our chief economist, Erna Björk Sverre Stottir, will provide an update on the Icelandic economy. After that, our deputy CFO, Egert Theitsson, will dive deeper into the numbers and share our outlook going forward. Before I start the presentation, I would like to remind our participants online that you can submit questions throughout the presentation. through the message board located below the video feed. We will, of course, provide answers to your questions in the Q&A session at the end of the webcast. And now to the results. It was a strong year, 2025, for the Arian Group, demonstrating the strength and resilience in our core operations. We delivered the return equity of 14.9%. comfortably above our medium-term financial target of 13%, and reflecting broad-based earnings momentum across the group. A key highlight this year is the growth in core income, which increased 12.3% year-on-year and was driven by higher net interest income, resilient fee income, and insurance service results. And again, demonstrating the importance of diversification and quality of our revenue base. Our cost-to-core income ratio improved to 42.3%, showing continued cost discipline even as activity levels remained high. And Werther delivered a combined ratio below 90% for the second consecutive year, reflecting sound underwriting and disciplined risk management. Our capital position continues to be a key strength, and we are currently at 308 basis points above the regulatory requirements, ensuring strong resilience and ample strategic flexibility. A...