Swedbank’s profit exceeded analysts’ expectations
2023.01.31 04:04
Swedbank’s profit exceeded analysts’ expectations
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – On Tuesday, Swedbank, a Swedish bank, proposed raising its annual shareholder dividend after announcing a larger-than-anticipated increase in net profit for the fourth quarter. The bank noted that rising interest rates at the central bank contributed to an increase in mortgage income.
The bank, which has been a part of Sweden’s savings bank movement for two centuries, made a net profit of 6.81 billion Swedish crowns ($653 million) for the quarter, up from 4.84 billion a year earlier. This was higher than the average analyst forecast of 6.26 billion, according to a Refinitiv poll.
Swedbank and its Nordic counterparts have experienced a year of rapid rate increases by central banks with the goals of bringing inflation under control and increasing interest income. However, the strain on households and businesses has only slowly begun to show up in higher credit loss provisions.
In a statement, Chief Executive Jens Henriksson stated, “Credit impairments increased slightly due to the weaker macroeconomic outlook, but credit quality is good and our liquidity position is strong.”
Swedbank, a rival to Nordea and Handelsbanken, reported that net interest income, which includes mortgage revenue, increased to 10.92 billion crowns from 6.75 billion crowns a year earlier, exceeding analysts’ expectations of 9.31 billion crowns.
