OSLO—Norway’s largest bank DNB reported its best ever third-quarter earnings on Thursday after the country ended pandemic restrictions, and announced it would now make a dividend payment for 2020, sending its shares higher. DNB’s net profit rose to 6.88 billion crowns ($826.88 million) for July–September from 5.55 billion crowns a year earlier, beating an average forecast of 5.76 billion crowns in a poll of analysts compiled by the firm. The Nordic country dropped all domestic pandemic restrictions on Sept. 25. Some 86 percent of adults were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Wednesday. Shares in DNB were up 1.9 percent at 07:08 GMT, outperforming a flat Oslo benchmark index. “All important indicators are pointing in the right direction. Norway has reopened, and the level of activity in the economy is now higher than it was before the shutdowns,” Chief Executive Kjerstin Braathen said in a statement. “We are seeing a …
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