STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 10, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Annual General Meeting of ForeningsSparbanken(Swedbank) (Other OTC:FGSKY) in Stockholm on April 10, 2003 approved a dividend of SEK 5.50 per share. The date-of- record for the right to said dividend is April 15. It is estimated that the dividend will be paid on April 22, 2003 through the agency of The Securities Register Centre. (VPC)
The AGM further approved amendments to the bank's Articles of Association, requiring in the main that the number of members of the Board of Directors shall be a minimum of nine and a maximum of eleven and that the number of auditors shall be a minimum of one and a maximum of two, with a maximum of equally many alternates. Registered public accounting firms may also be appointed as auditors.
The AGM additionally decided to permit the bank, in its securities operations, to continuously acquire shares in itself to facilitate those operations. That decision will remain in effect until the 2004 AGM and means that the shares may be acquired at the market price prevailing at the time of said acquisition and in such a quantity that the bank's total holding of such shares shall at no time exceed 5 % of the total shares in the bank.
In her address to the AGM, Swedbank's CEO Birgitta Johansson-Hedberg emphasised, among other things, the importance of alertness and flexibility in the uncertain situation prevailing today. She declared that the Group's underlying earnings were stable last year.
She furthermore emphasised the role of the full-service bank in the development of society at large and of the business sector, not least at local levels. Swedbank's strength and breadth enable it to have a presence in all parts of Sweden, near its customers, and still go in for offensive ventures in growth areas.
CEO Johansson-Hedberg pointed out, too, that in a time of downsizing and staff trimming in the financial sector, Swedbank is combining staff readjustment with recruitment and investment in human resources.
CEO Johansson-Hedberg finally noted with satisfaction that Swedbank is the only exchange-quoted bank in the Nordic Area to have been granted Environmental Management System certification in accordance with the international ISO 14001 standard. The certificate was presented at the AGM.
After the AGM, the Board of Directors consists of ten members. The following members were reelected: Bo Forslund, Ulrika Francke, Birgitta Johansson-Hedberg, Thomas Johansson, Goran Johnsson, Birgitta Klasen, Marianne Qvick Stolz, Carl Eric Stalberg and Lennart Sunden. The new member elected to the Board was Chairman of the Sparbanken Nord Board of Directors Anders Sundstrom.
Among people thanked at the AGM for their services was Goran Collert, Swedbank's Chairman of the Board for many years, who had declined reelection. At the same time, he was made Honorary Chairman.
At its meeting following its election, held immediately after the AGM, the Board made the following appointments: Carl Eric Stalberg, Chairman; Bo Forslund, First Deputy Chairman; Ulrika Francke, Second Deputy Chairman; Birgitta Johansson-Hedberg, CEO and Group President. Appointed Deputy CEO was Nils-Fredrik Nyblaeus.
Board and auditors after the AGM are presented below.
For further information: Carl Eric Stalberg, Chairman of the Board, phone: +46 8 585 912 96 Birgitta Johansson-Hedberg, CEO, phone: +46 8 585 910 88 Cecilia Hernqvist, Board Secretary, phone: +46 8 585 913 23 The Board of Directors and Auditors of ForeningsSparbanken AB/Swedbank Annual General Meeting (AGM) April 10, 2003 Board members elected by the AGM Carl Eric Stalberg, Chairman Bo Forslund, First Deputy Chairman Ulrika Francke, Second Deputy Chairman Birgitta Johansson-Hedberg, CEO Thomas Johansson Goran Johnsson Birgitta Klasen Marianne Qvick Stoltz Lennart Sunden Anders Sundstrom Board members appointed by employees Gith Bengtsson Monica Hellstrom Alternate board members appointed by employees Per Ekstrom Anna-Karin Holst auditors elected by the AGM Registered public accounting firms: Deloitte & Touche AB with Authorised Public Accountant Jan Palmqvist as individual auditor in charge Ernst & Young AB with Authorised Public Accountant Torbjörn Hanson as individual auditor in charge Auditor appointed by The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) Authorised Public Accountant Peter Markborn, PMAC AB
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