A warm welcome to this presentation of SpareBank 1 SMN's report for first quarter, 2022. My name is Trond Søraas. I'm the CFO here at SMN, and I will talk about the main issues and the key figures from this quarter. You are now watching a recording, but you are, of course, very welcome to ask questions. Please do so by either contacting me directly or using the other email on the screen now, the investor relations email. SpareBank 1 SMN delivers a strong result in a quarter which is marked with instability. The result is driven by a good increase in net interest income, a good result from owner interest and also low loan losses. The net profit came in at NOK 698 million.
That equals a return on equity of 12.5%. We are solid with a CET1 ratio of 18.3%. The lending growth was still strong, 2.4% in the quarter, and I'm also very glad to see that the deposit growth is continuing with an increase of 2.5% this quarter. As I stated, low loan losses, which came in at nil for this quarter. The pandemic is followed by a war in Europe. Yet again, we have had to establish a task force. We're getting used to this now and handling this fairly well. We maintain normal banking operations, and we also stick to our ambitious plans of growth in all business areas. The economy in our region is also very robust.
We are very glad to see a positive development in the offshore segment which has been to some degree burdensome for SMN in the past. We also see a situation in our region now where the housing prices are increasing mainly due this quarter to a reduction in supply, and we also see a very low unemployment rate. The unemployment rate in our region is well below the national average. As I stated, the result equals the return on equity of 12.5%, above our financial target. The CET1 ratio came in at 18.3%, driven by a modest growth in risk-weighted assets, strong results, and also reduced deductions in prudential criteria or, excuse me, filters.
As I stated before, the loan losses came in at zero this quarter. The twelve-month growth rate in the lending retail market came in at 7.6% and 8.6% in the corporate market. We also reached a new record in volumes. For the first time, we have passed NOK 200 billion in total loans in SpareBank 1 SMN. The market growth in mortgages in Norway are around 5%, and with the growth rates that we are having and experiencing every quarter, we are taking a growing market position quarter for quarter. The total share of lending from the retail market is now 68%.
The central bank increased the policy rate in March, and the market rates have been increasing as well in this quarter. Due to the notification period that we have to abide by, the lending margin in the retail market is lower this quarter and has been falling for the last few quarters. It's also down in the corporate market, but less so due to the fact that in that market, most of the loans are tied to the reference rate NIBOR. To counteract the fall in lending margins, we are glad to see that we have been able to increase the margins on deposits, especially in the retail portfolio.
As I stated, the deposit growth is still continuing, and we are experiencing a twelve-month growth in deposits both in the retail market and in the corporate market in the two figures area. The deposit to loan ratio is now 55% in SpareBank 1 SMN when you take into consideration total deposits and total loans. Yet again, we see the effect of a robust business model. We see that the incomes from income level both from subsidiaries and associated companies are also strong this quarter. There are two companies that stands out.
We see that the covered bond company, SpareBank 1 Boligkreditt, commissions coming from them are a bit lower due to the fact that market rates has increased, and as such increased the funding cost in that company while we are waiting to be allowed to increase the mortgage rates. We also see just a more modest and normal result from our market activities in SpareBank 1 Markets. Costs in the group are about the same level as last quarter. We see a reduction in cost in SpareBank 1 Markets, and a flat development in the other subsidiaries, but we see an increase in the banking operations. This increase is due to the and related to technology development and anti-money laundering and other customer related activities.
In addition to that, we also see that some cost has been posted earlier in 2022 than they were in 2021. Loan losses are at nil this quarter. They've been falling consistently the last quarters, and mainly driven by the positive development that we see in the offshore segment. We have a robust loan portfolio. We have tried to map the different part of the portfolio up to the effects that we see and the uncertainty that we see from both the pandemic and the war in Europe. The large part of the portfolio, as we can see it, is in the low impact bucket. As of now, we have no direct consequences from the situation that has arisen in Europe, but we are of course following the situation very closely.
This month we received an answer from the FSA, a feedback on the supervisory review and evaluation process that they have conducted. As a result of that, we have increased our target for CET1 to 17.2%. The feedback with the new Pillar 2 requirement from the FSA has effect from the end of April. The standard Pillar 2 requirement stands at the same level at 1.9%. We have, as other Norwegian banks also have experienced, received a higher Pillar 2 guidance than what we had before. That stands now at 1.25%.
In addition to that, we have received a temporary requirement of 0.7%, which we have to hold capital for until the FSA has handled and answered our application for revised IRB models. Our financial targets stand the same. We should be one of the leading finance houses in central Norway and among the best performers in the Nordic region. That means that we should have a return on equity about 12%. We should be undoubtedly solid and the new long-term target for CET1 is at 17.2%. We also intend to stick to our payout ratio of around 50%. Cost/income on group level should stay under 2%.
We are obliged and very decided to cut our climate footprint by 8% per year towards 2030. To sum up, we still believe that SpareBank 1 SMN, the MING, is an attractive investment. We have delivered high returns over time. We are very solid and well capitalized. We have effective banking operations and a very shareholder-friendly dividend policy. Our growth ambitions and our payout ratio ambition are the same, although we have received a new Pillar 2 requirement from the FSA. We have a strong position and a good growth possibility in an attractive region of Norway and a diversified customer portfolio and income base.
We are a good brand with development potential based on the business model, presence, and sustainability. There are underlying value through ownership positions both within and without, outside the alliance. We still believe that we are well-positioned when it comes to consolidation among Norwegian savings banks. Thank you.