SEK Interim Report 2 2014 - SEK plays important role for long-term and sustainable financing

SEK's lending to Swedish exporters and their customers during the first half of 2014 amounted to Skr 29.4 billion (1H13: Skr 38.1 billion). Demand for financing from SEK has been good, although volumes were not as high as during the first half of 2013 when the level of end-customer finance was unusual high. The levels of the new end-customer finance in the first half of 2014 amounted to Skr 17.5 billion (1H13: Skr 27.4 billion). The volume of new corporate lending amounted to Skr 11.9 billion (1H13: Skr 10.7 billion).

Access to financing is considered good by major exporters, while the exporting SMEs report inferior access to financing, according to SEK’s Export Credit Trends Survey in June 2014. Companies no longer view the krona’s exchange rate as a disadvantage and the cost of financing has been affected positively by lower interest rate levels. Despite good access to the capital market in the current situation, the demand for finance from SEK has been at a relatively high level. The volume of corporate lending increased slightly while the volume of financing to the Swedish exporters' customers, end-customer finance, decreased to corresponding levels as in previous years.

-          During my first months as President of SEK, I have had the opportunity to meet many of our clients. I want to understand the expectations that our clients have of our work and what aspects of our business they feel we can enhance. The overall impression I have gained from these meetings is that our clients are very satisfied and that SEK plays a vital role in supporting the export sector with long-term, sustainable financing, says SEK’s President Catrin Fransson.

Net interest income is lower for the first half of 2014 compared to last year, which is due to the fact that structured borrowing was redeemed early and has been replaced by simpler loan structures with higher funding costs, and because the margins for liquidity placements have declined.

• New lending to and for Swedish exporters was Skr 29.4 billion (1H13: Skr 38.1 billion)
• Net interest income amounted to Skr 720.2 million (1H13: Skr 813.1 million)
• Operating profit for the period amounted to Skr 836.1 million (1H13: Skr 105.0 million)
• The return on equity was 8.5 percent (1.1)

After-tax return on equity excluding net results of financial transactions was 4.6 percent (5.9)

• The outstanding volume of offers for credits at the end of the period was Skr 61.7 billion (year-end 2013: Skr 65.5 billion)
• The Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 17.1 percent, according to CRR, at the end of the period (19.5 percent at year-end of 2013 according to Basel II)

CONTACT
Edvard Unsgaard, Head of Communications SEK.

+46-8-613 84 88