Danske Bank announced third quarter pre-tax profits of Dkr4.7bn (Eu630m) yesterday (Thursday), 9% below consensus expectations on the back of negative interest rates in Denmark and low activity, although the bank maintained its net profit guidance for the full year.

Third quarter results of the big four Swedish banks came in below consensus expectations this week, with the impact of persistently low interest rates on net interest income (NII) and weak capital markets cited as contributing to the weaker than expected performance.

Nordea and Svenska Handelsbanken first quarter results announced on Wednesday echoed those with which SEB kicked off the Nordic bank reporting season the previous Thursday, showing strong net financial items, although Nordea fell behind its peers on net interest income (NII) that for SEB and Handelsbanken proved resilient.

Danske Bank made pre-tax profits of Dkr4.5bn (Eu605m) in the third quarter, 6% ahead of consensus expectations, and raised its outlook for the full year from Dkr10bn-Dkr13bn to Dkr11.5bn-Dkr13.5bn.

A solid start to the Nordic third quarter bank reporting season from Swedbank on Tuesday was built on by Handelsbanken and SEB, but Nordea fell short of consensus expectations, while in Norway DNB beat forecasts.

Jyske Bank Group reported Dkr2.8bn (Eu376m) of pre-tax profit for the second half of 2014 on Tuesday, its largest profit ever, although the figures are the first since the merger with BRFkredit in April, which contributed nearly Dkr2.4bn in one-off income to the result.

Danske Bank’s second quarter results announced today (Thursday) beat expectations but the bank lowered its guidance for the full year. The Danish lender reported after a slew of results from other major Nordic banks in July.

Norway’s DNB kicked off the Nordic reporting season today (Thursday), posting second quarter pre-tax profits that beat consensus expectations as the bank benefitted from raising lending rates and improved deposit margins.