Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 4, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleSwedbank targets a 15% return on equity, plans to lift its hiring freeze, and focuses on efficiency and market share growth amid global uncertainties.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish banking group Swedbank on Wednesday set a target of at least 15% return on equity in the coming years, in line with a previous goal despite recent headwinds on interest income, and said it expected to abandon a freeze on hiring.
Sweden's biggest mortgage lender said in a statement it aimed to increase or maintain market shares for its main products while boosting efficiency across the group by harnessing new technologies, including AI.
The bank last set financial targets in December 2022, aiming to achieve a return on equity of 15% in 2025, a goal it met in both 2023 and 2024, but over the past year central bank rates have tumbled, putting a damper on bank interest income.
In addition, the war in Ukraine and simmering trade conflicts have clouded the outlook also for lenders.
"Geopolitical tensions are contributing to a level of global uncertainty we have not experienced in decades," Swedbank CEO Jens Henriksson said.
Henriksson said during a presentation to investors that he expected an external hiring freeze, put in place to keep a lid on costs more than a year ago, to be lifted. "But we will remain restrictive in new hiring," he added.
The rival of Nordic banks such as Handelsbanken, SEB and Nordea has built capital on the back of growing income in recent years and reverted to a higher payout policy earlier this year.
"We have no intention to hold more capital than necessary," Henriksson said.
(Reporting by Niklas Pollard, editing by Stine Jacobsen and Terje Solsvik)
Swedbank has set a target of at least 15% return on equity in the coming years.
The hiring freeze was put in place to keep a lid on costs more than a year ago.
Geopolitical tensions, the war in Ukraine, and trade conflicts are contributing to a level of global uncertainty.
Swedbank last set financial targets in December 2022, aiming for a 15% return on equity by 2025.
Swedbank has no intention to hold more capital than necessary, as stated by CEO Jens Henriksson.
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