Handelsbanken strengthens its Tier 1 capital

In December 2008, Handelsbanken issued a non-innovative Tier 1
capital loan for SEK 200m. In the first quarter of 2009, the Bank has
issued a further SEK 2,705m under this loan.

The loan has been subscribed for by just over twenty institutional
investors.

The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority has previously decided
that the loan may be included in Tier 1 capital when calculating the
Bank's capital base. The increase of the loan strengthens the Bank's
Tier 1 capital ratio by almost 0.4 percentage points.

Details:


ISIN code:               XS0406920610
Issuer:                  Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ)
Coupon:                  Mid-swap + 750 bps
First call date:         25 March 2014



For further information, please contact:

Ulf Riese, Executive Vice President and        +46 8-701 12 12
CFO
Mikael Hallåker, Head of Investor Relations    +46 8-701 29 95
                                               mobile:  +46 70-266 29
                                               95