NOBA Bank Group-Scale advantages worth a premium-05/12/2026

Research evidence excerpt

NOBA Bank Group-Scale advantages worth a premium-05/12/2026

NOBA Bank Group

INITIATING COVERAGE | 12 MAY 2026

Investment summary

Leading Nordic specialist bank with four brands

Four brands and 20+ years of We initiate coverage on NOBA Bank Group with a Buy recommendation and a SEK 110

operating history target price. NOBA is the Nordic market leader in consumer finance with SEK 152bn in

gross lending as of Q1'26, more than two million customers across eight markets and a 20+

year operating history. The group spans four brands: Bank Norwegian, Nordax Bank, Svensk

Hypotekspension and the newly acquired DBT Capital. In our view, the current share price

does not fully reflect the value of NOBA's scale advantages, diversified product offering and

the scalability of its business model. We believe NOBA should trade at an earnings premium

to smaller peers, and find the current valuation of ~10x/8x P/E 2026-27E compelling for a

bank we estimate to deliver ~18% EPS CAGR in 2026-28E.

Scale as a major competitive advantage

Scale advantages on costs, We believe NOBA possesses several durable competitive advantages. First, cost efficiency:

distribution and underwriting NOBA delivered a cost/income ratio of ~26% last year and continues to trend lower with

Q1’26 at 24% (23% adj. amortization, 22% adj DBT acquisition), well below most peers in

the 35-50% range. Compared to peers, the bank enjoys cost scale advantages, particularly

visible in personnel and IT expenses. Second, NOBA sources a meaningful share of new

lending through direct and repeat channels, giving it structurally lower customer acquisition

costs in a market where peers rely more heavily on broker channels with commission fees.

Third, 20+ years of operating data and ~2 million customer base currently give NOBA a