2010 will still be an uphill battle for Danish banks, according to Danske Bank which has just released its 2009 accounts.

Results for the country’s largest bank were slightly better than anno horribilis 2008 but far from the boom years prior to the financial crisis. The bank showed a 2009 result after tax of DKK 1.7 billion compared with DKK 1.0 billion in 2008 and almost DKK 15 billion in 2007.

“2010 is expected to be yet another challenging year for the financial sector, for Danske Bank and for the group’s customers. The latest macroeconomic development does, however, give hope for a gradual improvement in the business foundation,” the bank writes.

Danske Bank still envisages continuing major losses on bad loans.

“Writedowns on loans are expected again this year to be at a high level, though lower than 2009,” the bank says. Bad loans cost Danske Bank DKK 25.7 billion in 2009.

Interest
The bank also says it expects Denmark will see positive growth in GDP at 1.7 percent and an increase in the interest rate of 0.5 percentage points both in Denmark and its other markets.

It also sees unemployment in Denmark continuing to grow and continued difficulty for Danes to borrow money.