Instabank ASA delivers record profit and highest-ever quarterly lending growth in Q2 2026

Instabank ASA (Euronext Growth Oslo: INSTA) today reports profit before tax more than doubling year-on-year to NOK 62.2 million for the second quarter of 2026, the Bank's highest ever. Lending growth was also the strongest in Instabank's history, the German credit card business posted its first profitable quarter, and the Bank's capital position strengthened significantly following the Norwegian FSA's final SREP decision.

Key highlights:

- Record profitability: Profit before tax reached NOK 62.2 million, up 115 % year-on-year, with the cost-to-income ratio improving by 5 percentage points to 39 %. Profit after tax was NOK 46.6 million, corresponding to a return on equity of 14.6 %.

- Record-high lending growth: Gross lending increased by a record NOK 938 million (+10.2 % QoQ) to NOK 10,105 million, with growth across all four product areas.

- Germany turns profitable: The German credit card business grew lending by NOK 393 million, accounting for 42 % of total lending growth in the quarter, and posted its first profitable quarter only one year after launch, with profit before tax of NOK 3.6 million.

- Capital position strengthened: The NFSA's final SREP decision released approximately NOK 141 million of total capital, including approximately NOK 95 million of CET1 capital, giving Instabank headroom to pursue its growth ambitions across the Nordic and European markets.

- Domicile question settled: Following the improved SREP outcome, the Board confirmed in June that Instabank will continue to operate as a Norwegian bank headquartered in Oslo, discontinuing the Finland relocation process.

Comment from CEO Robert Berg:

"This was the strongest quarter in Instabank's history. Profit before tax more than doubled year-on-year, lending grew by a record 938 MNOK, and total income rose 42 % while operating expenses rose 25 % - the operating leverage in our model is now clearly visible in the numbers. Our German credit card business turned profitable just one year after launch and is still early in its growth curve in Europe's largest banking market. With approximately 141 MNOK of total capital released through the SREP decision, and the question of our domicile settled, we enter the second half of 2026 with both the capital and the operational capacity to keep growing profitably. We reiterate our guidance for 2026."

Financial performance:

Total income increased 42 % to NOK 204.5 million, driven by net interest income growth of 37 % to NOK 171.0 million and a NOK 14.4 million increase in net other income, primarily reflecting growing commission and fee income from the German credit card business. Operating expenses increased 25 % to NOK 80.3 million, well below income growth, demonstrating clear and accelerating operating leverage. Loan losses were NOK 62.0 million, or 2.6 % of average gross loans, with the loss ratio remaining stable despite strong portfolio growth. Excluding the net effect of IFRS 9 model updates of NOK 11.8 million, profit before tax was approximately NOK 50.4 million, up around 75 % year-on-year.

Capital position:

Following the NFSA's final SREP decision, Instabank's Pillar 2 Requirement was reduced by 1.5 percentage points to 3.3 % of consolidated risk-weighted assets, effective 30 June 2026, while Pillar 2 Guidance was lowered by 0.5 percentage points to 1.5 % - below even the level indicated in the NFSA's preliminary notice of 7 May 2026. At quarter-end, the CET1 ratio stood at 17.3 %, 3.1 percentage points above the regulatory requirement including the P2G buffer, and the total capital ratio was 22.1 %, 2.9 percentage points above the total regulatory requirement including the buffer.

Outlook:

Instabank enters the second half of 2026 from a position of strength. The Bank reiterates its guidance for 2026 of lending growth in the range of NOK 3,000-3,500 million and profit after tax of NOK 160-185 million, underpinned by continued expansion in mortgages, business lending and the German credit card portfolio, and a scalable operating base that is demonstrably delivering operating leverage.

About Instabank ASA:

Founded in 2016, Instabank is a fully digital, Nordic challenger bank offering loans, savings, credit cards and insurance to private and corporate customers. Instabank operates in Norway, Finland and Germany, with a legacy portfolio in run-off in Sweden. At the end of Q2 2026, the Bank had 169,804 customers and 62 full-time and 14 part-time employees. Instabank ASA is admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker INSTA.

For further details, please refer to the full Q2-2026 interim report attached to this message.

Contacts:

Robert Berg, CEO – robert.berg@instabank.no Per Kristian Haug, CFO – perkristian.haug@instabank.no

This information is subject to disclosure requirements under section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.