Tarja Halonen receives the Swedbank Baltic Sea Award

Press Release December 2, 2008

Tarja Halonen receives the Swedbank Baltic Sea Award

The President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, has been honored with the Swedbank
Baltic Sea Award 2008. The award was handed over by the CEO of Swedbank Jan
Lidén at a gala dinner at the Baltic Development Forum Summit in Malmö on 1st of
December. 

It is the second year the Swedbank Baltic Sea Award is handed out. The award is
assigned to an individual or organization that has made an extraordinary
contribution to the development of the Baltic Sea Region. 

- The Baltic Sea Region needs fiery spirits, individuals who believe that they
through a personal and assiduous commitment can make the region stronger, better
and sustainable. President Halonen has a longstanding record of focusing on the
common good for the Baltic Sea Region, often stressing the fact that we all live
in a common region, with common assets, common problems, and common solutions,
said the CEO of Swedbank Jan Lidén upon handing over the award.  

With her strong commitment for the Baltic Sea region President Halonen has
inspired both political leaders and fellow citizens to take a common
responsibility for this region.

President Halonen was appointed among several strong candidates by a jury
consisting of the Prime Minister of Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Swedbank's
Executive Chairman Carl Eric Stålberg, and the Baltic Development Forum Chairman
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen. The prize sum is €5,000.

The Baltic Sea Award 2007 was dedicated to Mr Björn Carlson, a financier with a
great personal involvement in the Baltic Sea Region and also the funder of
Baltic Sea 2020.


For further information:
Peter Nygårds, Head of Public Affairs, Swedbank, phone: +46 70 690 16 00
Helena Zimmerdahl Torgerson, Head of Media and Communications, BDF, phone: +45
2764 8076
Anna Sundblad, Press Manager, Swedbank, phone: +46 70 321 39 95


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.