Norway’s biggest bank, DNB, reported more strong profits this week and analysts were unusually enthusiastic. Reactions like “Buy!,” “Home run!” and “Very strong!” were among those quoted by newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) on Friday.
Investors also reacted quickly, driving up DNB’s share price as much as 10 percent at one point on Thursday, when the fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2011 were released. “It’s fun when the stock exchange goes in the right direction,” DNB chief executive Rune Bjerke told DN. “But it’s the returns and share price development over time that’s critical.”
DNB reported what it called “strong profits” (external link) itself, despite all the global financial turmoil. The bank also could report solid capital reserves, which would have been even higher if the bank could measure its net worth along the same lines as its Nordic counterparts. As it is, though, DNB has earned an A+ rating from Standard & Poors.
DNB also won Norway’s most prestigious advertising prize this week, for a popular spot featuring US film star George Clooney (external link) that aired in Norway last year. Its message was that some people, like the woman in the ad, just get lucky while most others need to save to buy a home.
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