Finland's Nordea tops earnings estimates in 1st quarter

(Reuters) -Nordea Bank reported first-quarter operating earnings above market estimates on Wednesday, as higher income and lower expenses and loan losses compared to the previous quarter boosted the Nordic region's biggest lender.

The Finnish bank's operating profit fell 9% year-on-year to 1.61 billion euros ($1.83 billion), but rose 10% from the fourth quarter, beating the average estimate of 1.54 billion euros from analysts polled by LSEG.

Net interest income, a key metric for measuring banks' income from lending and deposits, was 1.83 billion euros and beat analysts' forecast of 1.79 billion euros.

The bank reiterated that it expects its return on equity to stay above 15% this year.

"We continue to see lower inflation and interest rates, which should support higher lending and investment activity when confidence returns," Nordea CEO Frank Vang-Jensen said in a statement.

($1 = 0.8814 euros)

(Reporting by Elviira Luoma in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi)