Dag Tjernsmo - new head of Handelsbanken Regional Bank Norway

On 1 October, Dag Tjernsmo will be appointed new head of
Handelsbanken Regional Bank Norway. At the same time, he will be
appointed Executive Vice President of Handelsbanken and become a
member of the Bank's senior management team.

He succeeds Inga-Lill Nicolin, who will take up a new position
reporting directly to group chief executive Pär Boman.

Dag Tjernsmo comes from the position as head of international asset
management at Handelsbanken Asset Management. He has previously held
various positions in Sweden and Norway in the 20 years he has worked
at Handelsbanken.

Dag Tjernsmo says, "It is an exciting challenge to take over our
successful Norwegian operations. Moreover, it is always nice for a
Norwegian, like myself, to be able to return home."

Handelsbanken has performed very strongly in Norway in recent years,
with steadily increasing market shares. Lending to the general public
recently exceeded NOK 140 billion. According to an independent
survey, Handelsbanken has the most satisfied corporate customers in
Norway. Handelsbanken is at the top for private customers as well.

Today, Handelsbanken has 49 branch offices in Norway, extending from
Tromsø in the north to Kristiansand in the south. The Bank has a
total of 809 employees in its Norwegian operations.



For further information, please contact:

Dag Tjernsmo, senior vice president,
tel. +46 (0)8 701 3756

Pär Boman, group chief executive,
tel. +46 (0)8 22 92 20

Birgithe C. Thamdrup, press officer,
tel. +47 916 94 163