Publication of prospectus for the rights issue and the listing of preference shares in Swedbank

Press Release December 1, 2008

Publication of prospectus for the rights issue and the listing of preference
shares in Swedbank

On 27 October 2008 the Board of Directors of Swedbank AB (publ) (“Swedbank”)
announced a SEK 12.4 billion new issue of preference shares with preferential
subscription rights for existing shareholders, and on 25 November 2008
Swedbank's shareholders approved the rights issue at an extraordinary general
meeting.

Swedbank's Board of Directors has prepared a prospectus regarding the rights
issue and the listing of the preference shares on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, which
today has been approved and registered by the Swedish Financial Supervisory
Authority. The prospectus is available on Swedbank's website, www.swedbank.com.
The prospectus is also available, free of charge, at Swedbank's offices at
Brunkebergstorg 8, Stockholm, Sweden, telephone: +46-771-606 503.

An information brochure in Swedish will be distributed to all directly
registered shareholders in Swedbank commencing on 1 December 2008.
Nominee-registered shareholders should contact their nominees immediately.


For further information:
Thomas Backteman, Head of Communication and IR, Swedbank, +46 (0)8-5859 3509
Johannes Rudbeck, Head of IR, Swedbank, phone: +46 (0)70 582 56 56 
Anna Sundblad, Press Manager, Swedbank, +46 (0)70-321 39 95




LEGAL NOTIFICATIONS
This press release is not an offer for subscription for shares in Swedbank. A
prospectus relating to the rights offering referred to in this press release and
the subsequent listing of the preference shares at Nasdaq OMX Stockholm has been
approved by and registered with the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. 

The subscription rights to be issued and the preference shares to be offered in
the rights issue and the prospectus referred to in this press release will not
be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or under the
securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold
in the United States or any state of the United States unless so registered or
pursuant to an available exemption there from. 

The distribution of this press release or the prospectus in certain
jurisdictions may be restricted. Neither this press release nor the prospectus
do constitute an offer of, or an invitation to purchase, any securities of
Swedbank in any jurisdiction in which such offer or invitation would be
unlawful. 

This press release and the prospectus contain forward-looking statements, which
are statements related to future, not past, events. In this context,
forward-looking statements often address Swedbank's expected future business and
financial performance, and often contain words such as "expect”, "anticipate”,"intend”, "plan”, "believe”, "seek”, or "will”. Forward-looking statements by
their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain and can
be influenced by many factors, including the behaviour of financial markets,
including fluctuations in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity
prices and the value of financial assets; continued volatility and further
deterioration of the capital markets; the commercial and consumer credit
environment; the impact of regulation and regulatory, investigative and legal
actions; strategic actions; and numerous other matters of national, regional and
global scale, including those of a political, economic, business and competitive
nature. These factors may cause Swedbank's actual future results to be
materially different than those expressed in its forward-looking statements.
Swedbank does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements. 

Neither the content of any of Swedbank's websites nor any website accessible by
hyperlinkage to any of Swedbank's websites is incorporated in, or forms part of,
this announcement.



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.