"SEB's underlying business has started the year on a strong note.
Continued high earnings capacity going forward and the increased
capital strength after the rights issue will provide a substantial
buffer to withstand further expected deterioration of overall
business conditions, ", says Annika Falkengren, SEB's President and
CEO, commenting on today's interim report.
SEB's profit before provisions for credit losses quarter amounted to
SEK 4,186m, an increase of 51 per cent compared with the first
quarter of 2008 and 27 per cent down from the previous quarter.
Operating profit amounted to SEK 1,802m (2,410).
Operating income increased by 30 per cent to SEK 11,430m compared
with the first quarter of 2008. Net interest income improved, by 40
per cent.
Operating expenses amounted to SEK 7,244m, an increase of 10 per cent
compared with the corresponding quarter of 2008, excluding goodwill
impairment charges.
In the quarter, an impairment charge of SEK 594m was made for all
goodwill for SEB's business in Ukraine due to the deepened crisis in
the country.
Provisions for credit losses increased to SEK 2,386m (364), of which
60 per cent were collective. The Baltic countries accounted for SEK
1,702m of the provisions. The credit loss level was 0.70 per cent
(0.13). The Group's total reserve ratio was 72 per cent.
Return on equity was 4.9 per cent (9.6) and earnings per share SEK
1.03 (1.92).
Tier I capital ratio was 12.0 per cent (9.7).
The Board has decided to apply for SEB's participation in the Swedish
Funding Guarantee Programme. The application will be filed within the
next few days.
The whole interim report is available under the attached link, and at
www.sebgroup.com.
SEB is a North European financial group serving some 400,000
corporate customers and institutions and five million private
individuals. SEB offers universal banking services in Sweden, Germany
and the Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It also has
local presence in the other Nordic countries, Poland, Ukraine and
Russia and a global presence through its international network in
major financial centers. On 31 December 2008, the Group's total
assets amounted to SEK 2,511bn (~EUR 230bn) while its assets under
management totalled SEK 1,201bn (~EUR 110bn).The Group has about
22,000 employees. Read more about SEB at www.sebgroup.com.
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For further information, please contact:
Jan Erik Back, CFO, +46 8 22 19 00
Ulf Grunnesjö, Head of Investor Relations, +46 8 763 85 01; +46
70 763 85 01
Odd Eiken, Head of Group Marketing & Communication, +46 6 763 87 30,
+46 70-763 87 30
Annika Halldin, Senior Financial Information Officer, +46 763 85 60;
+46 70 379 00 60
