While key highlights are discussed in detail below, some key takeaways include:

• Profitability remained solid with profit after tax at EUR 119.3 million, down 5% YoY due to a higher burden of non-recurring items. The underlying performance was resilient, with recurring profit before impairments and provisions increasing 5% YoY.
• Net interest income rose 3% YoY to EUR 240.6 million, supported by continued loan volume growth, which more than offset the effect of lower interest rates. On a QoQ basis, net interest income decreased by EUR 3.2 million, primarily due to fewer days in the period (EUR 5.1 million). Excluding this effect, net interest income increased by EUR 1.9 million, with higher income from loans more than offsetting the continued funding pressure in SEE banks.
• Loan growth remained broad‑based and robust. Gross loans increased 3% YtD and 14% YoY, with strong momentum across geographies and client segments. In particular solid growth was recorded in the corporate and state segment in Slovenia, while retail lending, including housing and consumer loans, continued to show healthy demand. NLB Group’s subsidiary banks in the South-Eastern European (SEE) region also maintained solid lending growth.
• The net interest margin showed stabilisation trends. On a QoQ basis, NIM decreased marginally to 3.19%, with NLB starting to show stabilisation and slight increase (to 2.57% from 2.54% in Q4), while SEE banks experienced continued pressure to raise more expensive term deposits to fund the strong long-growth.
• Net fee and commission income continued to show robust growth, achieving an increase of 8% YoY to EUR 86.6 million, driven mainly by investment funds, bancassurance and account‑related services, with notable contributions from SEE markets.
• Net non‑interest income declined due to non‑recurring effects. NNII decreased 7% YoY and 25% QoQ, driven primarily by the absence of positive one‑offs from the prior year (such as resolved legal disputes and real‑estate divestments), valuation effects, higher donations and seasonality in the fee and commission income as well as the accrual of regulatory costs in Q1.
• Cost discipline remained solid with like‑for‑like cost growth of 3.5% YoY, mainly due to salary adjustments and higher IT expenses. The cost‑to‑income ratio stood at 47.4%, below guidance.
• Asset quality indicators remained strong. Net impairments and provisions for credit risk amounted to EUR 12.8 million, driven by loan growth and credit migration, primarily in retail. The cost of risk stood at 26 bps annualised.
• Liquidity and funding profile remained sound. Deposit growth continued to support loan expansion, with customer deposits up 1% YtD and a healthy loan‑to‑deposit ratio of 77.8%.
• The capital position with a total capital ratio as at 31 March at 19.4% and CET1 at 14.8%, supports continued organic growth, M&A flexibility, and attractive shareholder remuneration, with a 55% dividend pay‑out ratio expected for 2026, implying high‑single‑digit dividend growth.  

NLB Group will reveal more about the key performance indicators, our ambitions, our long-term vision, the progress of our strategy two years since it was published, and, in general, our story behind the numbers at tomorrow's (7 May, 2026) NLB Investor Day.

Following our first two Investor Days in 2022 in Belgrade and in 2024 in Ljubljana, the next NLB Investor Day will be held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. NLB’s perspective as a systemically important institution namely extends well beyond Slovenia’s borders to all the markets in which we operate, and to which we are opening opportunities for growth and development. Registration for the live event is unfortunately no longer possible, however, the interested public can follow the event online by registering here. A recording of the event will also be available later.

On Friday, 8 May 2026, NLB Investor Day will be followed by the Financials Investor Conference – an exclusive gathering of investors and analysts, featuring meetings with leading financial institutions from Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltics and the Caucasus: Banca Transilvania, TBC Group, Lion Finance Group PLC, Georgia Capital, Artea, and LHV.