A challenging year with robust activity in many areas; that is what you can read
about in Swedbank's Annual and Sustainability Report for 2020, which has now
been published on the bank's website. For 2020 the Risk Management and Capital
Adequacy Report and ESG Factbook have been published as well.
Swedbank celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2020 and the year was devoted in
large part to managing the impacts of the pandemic, strengthening anti-money
laundering work and taking further steps on the road toward a sustainable
future.
"In 2020, Swedbank updated its strategic direction and put sustainability at the
core of the business strategy. Our ambition is to be the leading bank in
sustainability. Sustainability is also profitable in the long term for
customers, business and society as a whole," says Jens Henriksson, President and
CEO of Swedbank.
In recent years, interest in sustainable finance and investment solutions has
increased. The fact that Swedbank was the only Nordic bank in 2020 to qualify
for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) is proof that the sustainability
strategy is working,
"We showed our strength in new, sustainable funding instruments. It is
gratifying to see Swedbank among the top three Nordic issuers of green, social
and sustainability bonds, what we call ESG bonds, which is a growing business",
says Jens Henriksson.
The housing market is strong and our strategy is to offer a competitive price
and comprehensive solution to our customers. We want to grow in pace with the
market, but not at the expense of lower profitability or higher risk.
"Fundamentally, we have a good business, although it was a tough year," says
Jens Henriksson. "We have stable income in a turbulent time."
During the year, Swedbank successfully reached out to many people - digitally
and in social media. We have granted customers amortization exemptions and we
have helped them to rebalance their portfolios when the markets have been
turbulent. We have been there for them and provided advice during a difficult
time.
"This is a natural part of everything we do to create value for customers,
owners and society," says Jens Henriksson.
Swedbank also worked intensely in 2020 to address the historical shortcomings
that were found in the money laundering area. The significant progress made in
2020 has laid the foundation for Swedbank's efforts to be at the forefront in
the fight against financial crime.
All reports can be downloaded on swedbank.com (https://swedbank.com/investor
-relations.html)
Contact:
Annie Ho, Head of Investor Relations, phone: +46 70 343 78 15
Fredrik Nilzén, Head of Group Sustainability, phone: + 46 76 773 19 26
Unni Jerndal, Head of Group Press Office, phone + 46 73 092 11 80
Swedbank AB (publ) is required to disclose this information pursuant to the
Swedish Securities Markets Act (2007:528), the Swedish Financial Instruments
Trading Act (1991:980) and the regulatory framework of Nasdaq Stockholm. This
information was sent to be published on 25 February 2021 at 14:00 CET.
Swedbank encourage a sound and sustainable financial situation for the many
households and businesses. As a leading bank in the home markets of Sweden,
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Swedbank offers a wide range of financial
services and products. Swedbank has over 7 million retail customers and 600 000
corporate customers and organisations with 159 branches in Sweden and 82
branches in the Baltic countries. The group is also present in other Nordic
countries, the US and China. Read more at www.swedbank.com