Sweden's biggest bank Nordea and third-biggest SEB posted falls in third quarter earnings on Thursday owing to the global financial crisis, but analysts said the banks were withstanding the turmoil well.
After reporting better than expected profits for the third quarter, Swedbank then saw its shares drop more than 10 percent on Thursday following an announcement that the bank may need to seek additional capital.
The value of the Swedish krona dropped further in overnight trading ahead of Wednesday’s opening of markets in Europe, trading at 10.15 kronor per euro and 7.95 kronor per US dollar.
Sweden’s second-largest bank, Handelsbanken, presented strong third-quarter earnings on Thursday, saying it had so far escaped any adverse effects from the turmoil in global financial markets.
The Swedish krona continues to weaken relative to other major currencies, now trading at more than 10 kronor per euro for the first time since the common European currency was launched in 1999.
<b>Governments in other countries guarantee your savings if your bank collapses. Does this happen in Sweden, and if so how does the system work? Jenny, Gothenburg.</b>
Analysts in Sweden welcomed passage by the US Senate on Wednesday of a plan to help ailing US financial institutions, but cautioned that the financial crisis is far from being resolved.
The Stockholm stock exchange suffered a sharp slide on Monday, dragged down by steep share price drops for Swedbank and the Carnegie investment bank, while the Riskbank took further measures to shore up liquidity, adding to fears that the effects of the global financial crisis may be hitting Sweden.
Nordea, the Nordic banking group partially-owned by the Swedish state, announced on Monday it is taking over parts of Denmark’s beleaguered Roskilde Bank.
The Riksbank announced on Wednesday that it was entering into a $10 billion reciprocal currency arrangement with the Federal Reserve Bank in the United States.
The political opposition took aim at the Swedish government’s new budget proposal on Monday, while the document received mix reviews from labour and other organizations.
Following the week’s turbulence in the financial markets, Sweden’s Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) and the Riksbank met with members of the Riksdag’s finance committee to discuss the crisis.
In a dismal day on the Stockholm stock exchange, shares in Swedish banks took a particular beating amidst renewed concerns over stability in the global financial markets following the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers.
Sweden’s market analysts and savers are anxious to learn the outcome of Wednesday’s Riksbank meeting, during which the bank’s governors will decide whether or not to raise interest rates for the third time this year.
Sweden is expected to post a 2008 budget surplus of 163 billion kronor ($25 billion dollars) despite the global economic slowdown, the Swedish budget authority ESV said Wednesday.
Sweden's Muslim population could soon have their very own bank. A British bank is looking to expand its business and has been in contact with the Financial Supervisory Authority (FI), Sveriges Radio reports.
Swedish bank SEB said on Wednesday that second-quarter net profit had plunged by 20 percent to 2.8 billion kronor ($469 million), weighed down by its exposure to the Baltic region where the economy has slowed.
The Swedish central government had a surplus in payments -- or negative borrowing requirement -- of 13.5 billion kronor ($2.28 billion) in May, the Swedish National Debt Office (Riksgälden) said.
The head of Sweden’s Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen), Ingrid Bonde, has announced she is stepping down to take a job leading one of Sweden’s largest pension funds.
