Leading pan-Nordic bank with diversified business model by geography and business line. Strong capitalization combined with significant financial flexibility. Nordea Bank Abp's (Nordea's) simplification program and investments in digitalization will protect the bank from disruption and contribute to cost efficiency. Challenging macroeconomic environment with negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on revenues and asset quality. Scope to improve profitability and efficiency metrics relative to some other highly rated banks. Reliance on wholesale funding, exposing Nordea Bank to confidence sensitivity. The negative outlook on Nordea reflects the execution risks for the bank's strategic initiatives aimed at improving profitability and operating efficiency by 2022. It also reflects our view that the bank's earnings are under pressure due to the challenging operating environment
