SWDBY Swedbank A B (PK)

By Dominic Chopping

STOCKHOLM--Swedbank on Thursday reported a forecast-beating rise in third-quarter net profit, driven by a sharp increase in net-interest income.

The Swedish lender made a net profit of 9.12 billion Swedish kronor ($818 million) compared with SEK5.59 billion in the comparable period last year, as net interest income rose 54% to SEK12.9 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet had expected net profit of SEK8.45 billion and net interest income of SEK12.78 billion.

The bank said lending volumes increased while margins declined. Credit quality is good and it remains confident about its conservative and thorough lending process, Swedbank said.

"We are now streamlining the organization in line with our plan to deliver a sustainable return on equity of 15% from 2025 and onwards," Chief Executive Jens Henriksson said.

Swedbank said that to increase availability and customer satisfaction, it plans to separate out and create a business area for the premium and private banking customer segment and to transfer all corporate customers in Sweden that currently have an advisor to the corporates and institutions business area.

The bank ended the quarter with a common equity Tier 1 ratio--a key measure of balance-sheet strength--of 18.7% compared with 18.5% last year.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2023 02:22 ET (06:22 GMT)

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