Swedbank AB (publ)

Swedbank reported profit for the quarter of SEK 7.2 billion and earnings per share of SEK 6.37. Reported credit impairments were SEK 313 million, equal to 6 basis points. Excluding the extraordinary restructuring cost, return on equity was 15.5% and the cost-to-income ratio was 0.39; including SEK 860 million in extraordinary costs, ROE was 14.2% and cost/income was 0.43. CET1 at quarter-end was 17.4%, with a buffer of 260 basis points above regulatory requirements. Lending volumes increased by 2%, net commission income rose 7%, and assets under management increased to SEK 2.9 trillion. For guidance, the company kept 2026 cost guidance at SEK 27.5 billion excluding extraordinary costs and FX, expects FTEs to be around 16,800 by the end of next year, and said the restructuring should be fully implemented by end-2028 with a lower cost run rate of SEK 1 billion.

Jens Henriksson’s message was that Swedbank is performing well despite an uncertain macro backdrop and is executing on its Swedbank 15/27 plan. He emphasized strong customer activity, especially in mortgages, savings, corporate lending, and advisory, and said the bank is using AI and organizational changes to improve quality, security, efficiency, and cost control. He also framed the DFS settlement as the final conclusion of historical investigations, saying the bank can now move forward.

Jon Lidefelt focused on momentum in volumes and the mechanics of the quarter’s earnings. He said lending volumes were up 2%, mortgage volumes rose SEK 8 billion overall, net interest income increased 1% sequentially, and net commission income increased 7%, while costs included SEK 860 million of the planned SEK 1.3 billion extraordinary costs. He reiterated unchanged 2026 cost guidance of SEK 27.5 billion, said FTEs should be around 16,800 by end-2027, and noted CET1 was 17.4% with a 260 basis point buffer; he also detailed credit impairments of SEK 313 million, including SEK 108 million from updated macro assumptions and SEK 462 million from rating/stage migration.

Analysts focused on capital returns, margin pressure, credit migration, funding, AI spending, and the impact of the DFS settlement. Management said it targets a 200 basis point CET1 buffer within a 100-300 basis point range, has no intention of holding more capital than necessary, and did not plan an extra AGM or special distribution. On credit migration, Lidefelt said the SEK 260-270 million provision movement was tied to a few customers in C&I and Baltic Banking, not a broad sector trend. He also said funding was front-loaded at about two-thirds of the yearly plan, but declined to forecast near-term NII or disclose AI spend specifics.