February 21, 2002

Press release: Danske Bank - net profit of DKr8,713m for 2001
Danske Bank has today announced its results for 2001. The announcement of financial results and the annual report can be viewed at www.danskebank.com/reports
Highlights are shown below:

• The Danske Bank Group recorded a net profit of DKr8,713m for 2001, against a pro forma net profit of DKr6,304m for 2000.
• Core income was up by 7% to DKr28,307m.
• Operating expenses and depreciation remained, by and large, at the previous year’s level.
• The charge for bad and doubtful debts rose by DKr652m to DKr1,752m.
• The Group raised core earnings by DKr1,135m to DKr10,280m. Earnings from investment portfolios were DKr870m.
• The board of directors is proposing dividends of DKr4.75 per share, compared with DKr4.40 per share the year before.
• The success in implementing the merger enabled the Group to generate cost savings at a faster pace than originally forecast. A cost/core income ratio of 50% within a few years does not seem unrealistic.
• Danske Bank expects core earnings to grow in 2002, although at a slower rate than in 2001, since 2002 is likely to see sluggish growth in the world economy. Moreover, there is still uncertainty about the timing and strength of the recovery.
  
  

Commenting on the results, Danske Bank’s chief executive, Peter Straarup, said, "We recorded a strong improvement in core earnings at Retail Banking, Mortgage Finance and Wholesale Banking. The benefits of the merger are now clearly beginning to show up. The process is ahead of schedule. This has increased efficiency and reduced costs, as we had expected, and it will continue to do so. We have completed the merger in a number of key areas. For instance, our banking operations now run on a single IT platform. That enables us to concentrate fully on developing our business."

Contacts:
Thursday, February 21, from 2pm
Peter Straarup, Chief Executive, tel. + 45 33 44 01 07

For information on accounting issues (also before 2pm)
Jesper Ovesen, Chief Financial Officer, tel. + 45 33 44 25 00

Torsten Fels, Executive Vice President, Group Finance,
tel. + 45 33 44 07 63

Material from the results presentation at the press conference will be available on Danske Bank’s web site from about 2.30 pm.