The loan portfolio of the banks operating in Estonia increased by a total of 7% or 1.9 billion euros last year. The growth in lending was a little less than that in 2024, but it was still above the average of the past decade. The growth in lending by banks in Estonia last year was also more than twice as fast as the average in the euro area. This illustrates the enduring capacity to lend of the banks in Estonia and their continuing interest in doing so, though it also indicates that people and companies are more prepared to invest than they were earlier.

The fastest growth last year was in the portfolio of housing loans, as the growth in the stock of such loans exceeded 10% at the end of the year. The stock of other loans and leases to households was however at the same level as in 2024, primarily because demand for car leases was softer. The portfolio of corporate loans had increased by around 6% over the year in December. The growth came mainly from borrowing by companies in real estate and construction, and by those in the primary sector of agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, where the stock of loans grew by around 10%.

The loan portfolio has grown strongly, but local deposits have done so more slowly, making the loan decisions of the banks increasingly dependent on whether they can raise the financial resources needed from other sources, principally non-resident deposits, intra-group lending, and bond issues. The volume of corporate deposits increased by almost 3% by the end of last year, while household deposits were up by around 5%, gaining a total of 970 million euros. The growth in household deposits was restrained last year not just by the slower general growth in deposits, but also by larger wages being paid in December 2024 in advance of the rise in income tax, while wage payments from December 2025 were delayed until January this year because of the tax changes caused by the elimination of the tax hump. Cuts to interest rates meant that the share of deposits that were in term deposits was smaller than a year earlier at 9%, or 650 million euros in value, with the decline slightly more in evidence for corporate deposits than for household deposits.

The net profit of the banks operating in Estonia without the dividend income from non-residents was 155 million euros in the fourth quarter, and the total net profit for 2025 was 652 million euros. The profit was a fifth lower than in 2024, but the strong growth in lending and low rate of loans overdue helped offset the effect of the fall in Euribor. The profitability of the banks measured as the ratio of profits to assets was at the same level in the fourth quarter as the average in Estonia of the past decade. Euribor has held relatively stable since the summer and financial markets do not expect any substantial change ahead in interest rates, and so the profitability of the banks will depend particularly on the growth in the loan portfolio moving forwards.

See the figure showing yearly growth in the stock of loans and deposits.

Eesti Pank published a statistical release on banks and lease companies in December 2025 today.

Additional information:
Hanna Jürgenson
Communications Specialist
Eesti Pank
Tel: 5692 0930
Press enquiries: [email protected]