How Many Billions the Major Banks Made

The four major Swedish banks continue to show strong profitability. Together, Nordea, SEB, Swedbank, and Handelsbanken reported a combined operating profit of around 42 billion SEK during the second quarter of the year.

At the same time, the reports reveal clear differences between the banks. Handelsbanken was the big disappointment, while the other three mostly met or exceeded market expectations.

Nordea was once again the largest and most profitable major bank during the quarter, with an operating profit of about 17 billion SEK. SEB reported an operating profit of 10.7 billion SEK, Swedbank about 9.2 billion SEK, and Handelsbanken 6.7 billion SEK.

The strong results of the big banks often spark debate, not least because many savers are still getting low interest on their salary accounts. The banks, meanwhile, usually emphasize that they have over 1.2 million shareholders and that strong profitability contributes to both stability and dividends for many Swedish small investors.

Handelsbanken’s operating profit was lower than both analysts’ forecasts and the result for the same quarter last year.

The bank also saw a lower net interest income, partly after losing market shares in the Swedish mortgage market. In addition, its stock performance has been weaker than that of the other major banks this year.

SEB, on the other hand, was one of the reporting period’s winners. The bank surpassed expectations with its operating profit of 10.7 billion SEK. SvD highlighted the report, in which CEO Johan Torgeby notes, among other things:

“Customer activity was high across several business segments. We saw increased credit demand among our large corporate clients, and loan growth remained robust in the Baltics. In an uncertain world, SEB stands strong.”

Swedbank’s operating profit came in somewhat above market forecasts. At the same time, the bank was notified that the last American investigation related to suspected money laundering has now been completed. The result was a fine of 50 million dollars.