Nordea writes off €130m of intangibles after accounting change

Fourth quarter impairment charges fourteen times larger than year prior

A change in Nordea’s accounting policy for IT development costs resulted in the bank writing off €130 million ($139 million) of intangible assets in the fourth quarter of last year, a move that took a 22-basis point bite off its return on equity (ROE). 

Banks subject to the International Accounting Standard 38, a section of the International Financial Reporting Standards, can recognise certain non-monetary assets such as computer software and licences as intangible assets if these are expected