Press Release November 11, 2008 Kommuninvest and Swedbank collaborate on municipal loans The financial crisis leaves a trail of higher prices on the credit market in its wake. Swedbank and Kommuninvest are therefore initiating collaboration in order to offer municipalities and county councils the best possible borrowing conditions for credit with short-term fixed interest rates. The collaboration between Kommuninvest and Swedbank arises from the insight that we complement rather than compete with each other when it comes to financial services for municipalities and county councils. The co-operation encompasses some SEK 33 billion and affects municipalities that are customers of Swedbank and the network of co-operating Sparbankerna savings banks. Municipalities and county councils that are not members of Kommuninvest, and therefore unable to borrow from the organisation, can apply for membership. “The co-operation with Kommuninvest is a fine example of Swedbank's commitment to ensuring that Sweden's municipalities and county councils have the best possible financial offering available to them in any situation. As the main bank for the majority of Sweden's municipal enterprises and county councils, we have high demands on being able to offer competitive solutions for capital investment, public funding and systems for paying salaries and other transactions,” says Jan Lidén, CEO of Swedbank. The recent turbulence on the global financial market has raised the price of liquidity. Kommuninvest's role as a local debt office is important on a market in turmoil. With the highest possible credit rating - on a par with the Kingdom of Sweden - it can offer cost-effective financing opportunities. This enables Kommuninvest to offer attractive credit with short fixed interest periods. “By working alongside Swedbank we are making it easier for our members to access the best possible credit terms in the long run. We have entered into this co-operation based on our remit as a local debt office, i.e. to create favourable solutions for our members' financial operations without a vested interest in profit-making, based on a municipal value foundation. Membership of Kommuninvest is voluntary and open to all municipalities and county councils in Sweden, so this offer is directed at all municipalities, county councils and their majority-owned companies,” says Tomas Werngren, CEO of Kommuninvest. For further information, please contact: Kjell Hedman, Executive Deputy President and Head of Swedish Banking, Swedbank, phone +46 (0)8-585 912 21 Tommy Lundgren, Head of Public Sector, Swedbank, mobile +46 (0)70-326 13 60 Anna Sundblad, Press Officer, Swedbank, mobile +46 (0)70-321 39 95 Tomas Werngren, CEO, Kommuninvest, phone +46 (0)19-16 78 10, mobile + 46(0)70-645 06 69 Maria Viimne, Deputy CEO, Kommuninvest, phone +46 (0)19-16 78 42, mobile +46 (0)70-333 69 02 Anitha Holmberg, Head of Corporate Communications, Kommuninvest, phone +46 (0)19-16 78 06, mobile +46 (0)70-638 66 63 Swedbank's vision is to be the leading financial institution in the markets where we are present. Swedbank has 9 million retail customers and 600,000 corporate customers with more than 459 branches in Sweden, 300 branches in the Baltic countries and another 190 branches in Ukraine. The group is also present in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Kaliningrad, Luxembourg, Marbella, Moscow, New York, Oslo, Shanghai, St. Petersburg and Tokyo. As of December 2007 the group had total assets of SEK 1,600 billion and approximately 22,000 employees. For more information about Swedbank, please visit www.swedbank.com.
Kommuninvest and Swedbank collaborate on municipal loans
| Source: Swedbank AB