SEB's Fourth Quarter Net Profit Surpasses Expectations

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish bank SEB reported a higher than expected fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday as high customer activity and asset management boosted results.

Sweden’s banks have been boosted by a strong economic recovery throughout 2021 as vaccines and the country’s no-lockdown policy have limited economic disruptions from the pandemic.

“SEB’s operating profit improved significantly compared with the challenging pandemic year of 2020,” said Chief Executive Officer Johan Torgeby in a statement.

Net profit at Sweden’s top corporate bank rose to 6.20 billion Swedish crowns ($664.1 million) from 5.12 billion crowns in the year-ago period, beating a mean forecast of 5.85 billion in a Refinitiv poll of analysts.

Interest income, which includes income from mortgages, rose to 6.72 billion crowns from 6.56 billion crowns a year ago.

SEB’s board proposed a dividend of 6.00 crowns per share, corresponding to around 51% of the 2021 net profit, but below the 7.24 crowns per share forecast by analysts. The bank said it planned to distribute between 5-10 billion crowns through share buybacks.

($1 = 9.3359 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Helena Soderpalm and Shailesh Kuber)