SEB 3Q Beats Forecasts Amid Growth in Lending and Advisory Services
October 23 2019 - 2:18AM
Dow Jones News
By Dominic Chopping
STOCKHOLM--Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB-A.SK) posted a
forecast-beating third-quarter net profit on Wednesday amid solid
growth in both corporate and mortgage lending and advisory services
to large corporates and institutions.
"Despite a softening macroeconomic environment and a seasonal
slowdown, clients remained active in the third quarter," Chief
Executive Johan Torgeby said.
Separately, the bank said it has appointed finance director
Masih Yazdi as chief financial officer from Jan. 1. Nina
Korfu-Pedersen, currently head of group finance, has been appointed
head of business support and operations.
The Sweden-based bank posted net profit of 4.77 billion Swedish
kronor ($495 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30 compared
with SEK4.54 billion a year earlier, beating the SEK4.64 billion
forecast from analysts polled by FactSet.
Net interest income rose to SEK5.98 billion from SEK5.32
billion.
Lending growth remained strong and SEB continued to grow its
market share within corporate and mortgage lending, while margins
on new sales remained stable, it said.
Margin pressure on insurance and pension services continued and
the bank said cross-selling and process automation will therefore
remain key for profitability and economies of scale to be
maintained.
In the short term, the pipeline for lending and investment
banking activity continues to look promising. However, SEB said it
recognizes that the macroeconomic outlook has continued to
weaken.
The bank's common equity Tier 1 ratio--a key measure of
financial strength--stood at 16.4% at the end of the quarter, down
from 19.7%.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 23, 2019 02:03 ET (06:03 GMT)
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