61KN Westpac 24 S

RNS No 5786m
SKANDINAVISKA ENSKILDA BANKEN
25 October 1999

SEB's organisation after the acquisition of BfG

After the acquisition of BfG, SEB will be a European bank, focusing on the
savings market and the Nordic corporate market. In order to implement the
necessary changes within both BfG and SEB, a new and powerful organisation
will be needed, in which strategic decisions are made centrally and operative
decisions as close to the client as possible. At the same time, it is
necessary to take advantage of internal income/cost synergy in the best
possible way. Profitable growth will be the watchword of the new Group.

In order to achieve this, SEB's business areas will be divided into three main
groups plus certain companies.

A new group will be formed under the name "Nordic banking". It will be led
by Monica Caneman, Deputy Group Chief Executive, Executive Vice President and
former Head of the Financial Services business area. This group will include
the Retail Distribution and Merchant Banking business areas plus SEB Finans,

SEB Securities Services and SEB Foretagsinvest. By co-ordinating these
activities, SEB will create the necessary conditions for increased focus on
the Nordic corporate market through enhanced co-operation. The Nordic
corporate market is one of SEB's core areas, and one in which it intends to
make further investments. In addition, cost synergy gains will be achieved
through avoidance of duplicated tasks as regards production and back-office
operations.

In the private market we will continue to pursue our multi-channel strategy,
investing in increased service and advisory capacity at our branch offices,
via the telephone and the Internet. The purpose of co-ordination is to make
production and back-office functions more efficient in these areas.

BfG will be run as a group in its own right. Karl-Heinz Hulsmann, the current
President of BfG, will continue as President, while Lars Lundquist, Executive
Vice President of SEB and former Head of Asset Management, will be responsible
for the BfG group within SEB. BfG's focus is twofold: to invest in growth in
the private savings market and in Internet banking services. The corporate
side of BfG will be subjected to a strategic overhaul and co-ordinated with
SEB's merchant banking operations in Germany.

A third group will be formed under the name Asset Management and Life, which
will include Asset Management and SEB Trygg Liv, with Lars H Thunell as Acting
Head. The strategy of this group is to develop savings products and channels.
Over the next few months, the co-ordination of BfG's activities with those of
SEB will be in focus, in order to create a powerful and competent asset
management organisation and to provide the various channels of distribution in
different countries with qualified advisory capacity for our customers as
regards investment.

A number of companies will be run more independently, with their own
trademarks. This is the case for Enskilda Securities, which will stick to its
strategy of becoming a leader within Equity Trading and Corporate Finance in
the Nordic area and within a select number of business sectors in Europe. It
is also the case for SEB Kort (credit and charge cards) which will pursue its
growth strategy in the Nordic area, with, among others, Eurocard and Diners as
trademarks. SEB Baltic Holding acts as co-ordinator of SEB's 50 per cent
holdings in Eesti Uhispank, Estonia, Latvijas Unibanka, Latvia and Vilniaus
Bankas, Lithuania.

The Executive Committee and the Management Committee will remain unchanged.

For further information kindly contact:

Gunillla Wikman, Head of Group Communications at SEB

Telephone number   + 46 8 763 81 25
Mobile phone       + 46 70 763 81 25


Lotta Treschow, Head of Investor Relations at SEB
Telephone number   + 46 8 763 95 59

Mobile phone       + 46 70 763 95 59


Boo Ehlin, Head of External information

Telephone number   + 46 8 763 85 77
Mobile phone       + 46 8 70 763 85 77

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Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information
The following files are available for download:
http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/10/25/19991025BIT00080/bit0001.doc 
http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/10/25/19991025BIT00080/bit0002.pdf 


END

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