The net interest – that is, what the bank earns from the difference between deposit and lending rates – rose to 12.6 billion. In the corresponding quarter a year earlier, net interest was 11.9 billion.
Net commissions – what the bank takes in from fees and commissions – rose to SEK 4.0 billion compared to SEK 3.7 billion a year earlier.
Net interest income fell slightly compared to last year’s fourth quarter and also ended up slightly lower than analysts had expected. The average forecast was for a net interest income of 12.8 billion, according to a forecast compilation from Bloomberg.
However, net commissions rose somewhat more than expected and the profit ended up exceeding expectations, according to Bloomberg.
Costs in the first quarter fell by 4 percent compared to the corresponding quarter the year before. However, the number of employees has increased more than forecast due to lower staff turnover, Swedbank CEO Jens Henriksson writes in the report.
“A temporary hiring freeze has therefore been introduced, with the possibility of business-critical exceptions,” comments the Swedbank CEO.
The article is updated
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