Swedbank announces revised dividend proposal

Press Release 9th of March, 2009 

Swedbank announces revised dividend proposal 

In connection with the year-end report the Board of Directors announced a
proposal for a dividend of SEK 4.50 per ordinary share and SEK 2.40 per
preference share. At the time the Board stated that the proposal struck a
balance between the dividend objective and the importance of retaining capital
within the bank in order to meet the deteriorating market outlook with retained
strength and stability. 

Since then a number of indicators have pointed towards a continued deterioration
of macroeconomic conditions in many of the countries in which Swedbank operates,
which has lead to a renewed discussion in the Board regarding the dividend
proposal. The Board has decided to change the dividend proposal. The previous
proposal is therefore rescinded and the Board of Directors proposes that no
dividend will be paid to ordinary shares or preference shares for the financial
year 2008. 

By not paying a dividend Swedbank will further strengthen its capital by SEK
2.9bn, and add 0.4 percentage points to the total capital ratio, which would
increase from 14.8 to 15.2 per cent.

The revised proposal is supported by owners representing more than 45 percent of
the votes and capital in Swedbank.

The long term dividend policy remains unchanged.

“Our task is to ensure the best interests of the bank. This proposal would
further strengthen our capital base by SEK 2.9bn and increase the financial
strength in challenging times. We are confident that this decision will be
beneficial for our shareholders in the long term”, says Carl Eric Stålberg,
Chairman of the Board. 


For further information, please contact:
Carl Eric Stålberg, Chairman of the Board, Swedbank, phone: +46 8 585 910 01
Thomas Backteman, Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs, Swedbank, phone: +46
708 311 166
Johannes Rudbeck, Head of Investor Relations, Swedbank, phone: +46 70 582 56 56
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 9.4 million retail customers and 600,000
corporate customers with 419 branches in Sweden, 278 branches in the Baltic
countries and another 215 branches in Ukraine. The group is also present in
Copenhagen, Helsinki, Kaliningrad, Luxembourg, Moscow, New York, Oslo, Shanghai,
St. Petersburg and Tokyo. As of December 2008 the group had total assets of SEK
1,812 billion and approximately 21,000 employees. For more information about
Swedbank, please visit www.swedbank.com.