editorial
Lunar, the Nordic challenger bank, has reported a significant increase in net interest and fee income for the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year. The bank’s earnings doubled to DKK 184 million ($28.9 million) from DKK 90.1 million ($14.2 million) in 2022.
The CFO of Lunar Group, Rie Ruby, credited the positive development in earnings to the bank’s strategy of attracting new customers, developing its product range, and reducing costs. Lunar has invested heavily in growing the business and expanding into new markets and products over the years. In the first six months of 2023, the bank gained over 50,000 new customers in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, bringing its total customer base to more than 750,000.
Lunar’s success can be attributed to its innovative offerings. In February, it launched ShareIt, a Danish payment app that allows users to easily split expenses and keep track of debts. The app has already attracted 180,000 users. In June, Lunar introduced a new business area called Banking Services, partnering with the Swedish fintech company Trustly to enable payments for third parties through an API.
To support its growth, Lunar raised DKK 260 million ($40.9 million) in growth capital earlier this year. The bank aims to become profitable faster by streamlining its business and costs and increasing earnings through new products and services.
Despite the positive earnings growth, Lunar reported a net loss of DKK 213.1 million ($33.5 million) for the first half of 2023, but this is a significant improvement from the net loss of DKK 787.9 million ($123.9 million) in the same period last year.
Lunar, headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, currently employs over 500 people across its operations in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Stockholm, and Oslo. The bank obtained its banking license in 2019 and has since become one of the few banks with a Nordic banking platform.
With its focus on simplifying and enriching people’s financial lives, Lunar is determined to become the best everyday bank for customers in the Nordic countries. The bank’s recent performance indicates that it is on the right track, and it will continue to focus on growth moving forward.
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