FöreningsSparbanken interim report jan - sept 2001

Stable results despite a turbulent environment First nine months of 2001 in brief: · Operating profit amounted to SEK 6,362 M (8,004) · Operating profit, excluding nonrecurring items amounted to SEK 6,512 M (6,842) · The return on equity amounted to 15.5 percent (23.7) · Earnings per share amounted to SEK 7.71 (10.70) · Net interest income rose by 11 percent to SEK 11,201 M (10,129) · Net commission income decreased by 8 percent to SEK 4,586 M (5,011) · Loan losses remained unchanged at SEK 878 M (880) · Robur's share of net fund investments rose to 19 percent (14) · The number of Internet banking customers in the Group increased to approx. 1.4 million (0.9) · Continued strong growth in card and payment operations · The proposed merger with SEB called off Group profit The Group's operating profit for the first nine months of 2001 amounted to SEK 6,362 M (8,004). Profit was affected by merger costs of approximately SEK 150 M. The first nine months of 2000 included capital gains of approximately SEK 700 M, a VAT recovery including interest of SEK 202 M and a surplus insurance refund from Alecta (formerly SPP), which reduced expenses by SEK 260 M. Excluding these nonrecurring items, operating profit amounted to SEK 6,512 M (6,842). Earnings were positively affected by the development of FIH and Hansapank, while securities commissions declined. Earnings from associated companies were negatively affected foremost by the development in SpareBank 1 Gruppen in Norway. The return on equity during the period was 15.5 percent (23.7). Earnings per share amounted to SEK 7.71 (10.70). For the third quarter of 2001 operating profit was SEK 2,002 M (2,674). The change is due to lower stock prices and the resulting decline in securities commissions, merger costs and lower profit from associated companies. Compared with the second quarter of 2001, operating profit decreased by SEK 351 M. The change is due to seasonal fluctuations in dividend income, lower stock prices and the resulting decline in securities commissions, as well as higher merger costs and lower profit in associated companies. Income The Group's total income amounted to SEK 17,641 M (18,146). Income for the third quarter amounted to SEK 5,755 M, compared with SEK 6,031 M in the second quarter and with SEK 5,984 M in the third quarter of 2000. Net interest income The Group's net interest income rose by SEK 1,072 M or 11 percent to SEK 11,201 M (10,129). The improvement is primarily due to an increase of approximately SEK 600 M in FIH and Hansapank's net interest income. Spintab's net interest income rose by approximately SEK 250 M, of which SEK 100 M relates to a refund of insurance fees for loan insurance. In addition, the state deposit guarantee fee, which is charged to net interest income, declined by approximately SEK 350 M. During the third quarter net interest income amounted to SEK 3,681 M compared with SEK 3,724 M in the second quarter. Net commission income Net commission income for the period January-September 2001 decreased by SEK 425 M or 8 percent to SEK 4,586 M (5,011). Due to lower market volume and lower stock prices, brokerage commissions declined by approximately SEK 320 M and asset management commissions by approximately SEK 380 M. Net commission income from payment services continued to develop strongly, rising by approximately SEK 180 M compared with the corresponding period of 2000. Net commission income during the third quarter amounted to SEK 1,518 M compared with SEK 1,549 M in the second quarter. Net profit on financial operations Net profit on financial operations amounted to SEK 962 M (1,299). Profit on stock trading declined, while income from foreign exchange operations developed positively, mainly at Swedbank Markets, though also at FIH and Hansapank. Net profit on financial operations during the third quarter amounted to SEK 341 M. In the second quarter the corresponding profit was SEK 397 M. Other income Other income amounted to SEK 748 M (1,469) during the first nine months. The second quarter of 2000 included capital gains of approximately SEK 700 M from the sale of FöreningsSparbanken's shareholdings in Bank Handlowy and Svensk Exportkredit AB. The third quarter 2000 figure included a VAT recovery that affected other income by SEK 168 M. Excluding these items, other income amounted to SEK 601 M in January- September 2000. Expenses Expenses for January-September 2001 amounted to SEK 10,326 M (9,452). In the second quarter of 2000 the Group reported a surplus insurance refund from Alecta, which reduced expenses by SEK 260 M. Excluding the subsidiaries FIH and Hansapank, allocations to the Kopparmyntet profit-sharing fund, merger costs and the refund from Alecta, expenses decreased by SEK 155 M or 2 percent to SEK 8,537 M (8,692). Expenses for the third quarter of 2001 amounted to SEK 3,443 M compared with SEK 3,405 M in the second quarter and with SEK 3,106 M in the third quarter of 2000. Staff costs Staff costs for the first nine months of 2001 amounted to SEK 4,869 M (4,533), including charges of SEK 338 M (85) for profit-sharing allocations in the Group. Change in number of full-time positions Number of Group employees in terms of full-time positions. Sept June Dec Sept 30 30 31 30 2001 2001 2000 2000 Permanent 9,050 9,194 9,106 9,033 employees Temporary 511 493 574 654 employees Subtotal 9,561 9,687 9,680 9,687 Hansapank* 6,098 5,961 3,180 3,121 FIH 150 143 142 139 Total 15,809 15,791 13,00 12,947 2 * The increase in Hansapank during the second quarter of 2001 is due to the acquisition of LTB. IT expenses In addition to computer expenses, IT expenses include all other development and production expenditures as well as service charges for computer equipment and depreciation of computer equipment. IT expenses for the period January-September 2001, after deducting IT-related income from partly owned banks and independent savings banks, amounted to SEK 1,798 M (1,621). Third quarter IT expenses amounted to SEK 495 M, following SEK 620 M in the second quarter and SEK 683 M in the first quarter. Consequently, these expenses have, according to plan, gradually decreased since the first quarter of 2001. Other expenses Expenses directly attributable to the cancelled merger preparations with SEB, excluding staff and IT expenses, amounted to approximately SEK 150 M, of which SEK 100 Mkr in the third quarter and SEK 50 M in the second quarter. Expenses to liquidate the Danish Internet bank, Firstviewbank, amounted to approximately SEK 60 M. Loan losses The loan loss level for January-September 2001 was 0.2 percent (0.2). Loan losses amounted to SEK 878 M (880), of which FIH and Hansapank accounted for SEK 77 M (201). A specification of loan losses and problem loans is provided in Notes 4 and 5. Tax expense 27 percent The tax expense amounted to SEK 1,718 M (1,984) for the first nine months, or an effective tax rate of 27 percent (25). The lower tax rate last year is primarily due to a larger share of tax-exempt income. Interest rate risk An increase in market interest rates of one percentage point as of September 30, 2001 would have reduced the value of the Group's interest- bearing assets and liabilities, including derivatives, by approximately SEK 631 M (637). The decrease in value for positions in SEK would have amounted to SEK 455 M (551) and for positions in foreign currency SEK 176 M (86). The Group's interest rate risk in foreign currency is primarily in the foreign subsidiaries Hansapank and FIH. An interest rate increase of one percentage point would have reduced the Group's net profit on financial operations by approximately SEK 236 M (255) as of September 30, 2001. The Group also holds positions in inflation-indexed instruments, denominated in SEK, which a one-percent increase in real interest rates would have reduced in value by approximately SEK 48 M (40) as of September 30, 2001, of which approximately SEK 24 M (8) would affect reported net profit on financial operations. Capital adequacy On September 30, 2001 the capital adequacy ratio, which is calculated for the financial companies group, amounted to 10.5 percent (10.8), of which the primary capital ratio was 6.8 percent (6.9). Market risks as a share of the total capital adequacy ratio amounted to 0.6 percentage points (0.5). The risk-weighted amount for credit risks rose to SEK 523 billion (485). The increase is primarily attributable to higher lending by Spintab, FIH and Hansapank. The risk-weighted amount for market risks rose by SEK 6 billion to SEK 30 billion. The increase is mainly due to increased lending in Euro by Hansapank, a change in the maturity structure and an increased holding of interest-bearing securities at FIH, in addition to the higher market value of currency-related derivatives at Swedbank Markets owing to a lower exchange rate for the Swedish krona. Specification of capital adequacy SEK M Sept June Dec 31 Sept 30 30 30 2001 2001 2000 2000 Primary capital 37,405 37,346 35,045 33,000 Supplementary capital 25,864 25,679 24,091 25,646 Less shares, etc. - - - - 5,453 5,292 5,020 4,874 Expanded portion of 244 230 883 849 capital base Capital base 58,060 57,963 54,999 54,621 Risk-weighted amount for 523,26 514,20 484,77 476,45 credit risks 9 6 5 6 Risk-weighted amount for 29,924 32,197 24,192 20,412 market risks Total risk-weighted amount 553,19 546,40 508,96 496,86 3 3 7 8 Capital adequacy ratio, % 10.5 10.6 10.8 11.0 Primary capital ratio, % 6.8 6.8 6.9 6.6 The capital base as of September 30 each year includes profit for the first six months of each year. As of September 30, 2001 the FöreningsSparbanken financial companies group included the FöreningsSparbanken Group, Eskilstuna Rekarne Sparbank AB, Färs och Frosta Sparbank AB, FöreningsSparbanken Sjuhärad AB, FöreningsSparbanken Söderhamn AB, Bergslagens Sparbank AB, Vimmerby Sparbank AB, Aktia Sparbank Ab in Finland and Sparebank 1 Gruppen in Norway. The Group's insurance companies are not included. Business area development Savings Customers' savings in FöreningsSparbanken amounted to approximately SEK 503 billion (531) as of September 30, 2001. Deposits have risen by 10 percent since the beginning of the year Customers' deposits have risen to slightly over SEK 233 billion (211). Since the beginning of the year deposits have risen by a total of SEK 22 billion or slightly over 10 percent. Deposits in SEK were largely unchanged at approximately SEK 183 billion (179), while deposits in foreign currency rose by SEK 18 billion or approximately 57 percent to SEK 50 billion (32). Hansapank's newly acquired subsidiary LTB accounts for SEK 8 billion of the increased deposits in foreign currency. Savings and investments, the Group SEK billion Sept June Dec Sept 30 30 31 30 2001 2001 2000 2000 Deposits from the public Households, SEK 119.4 113.8 110.5 118.8 Other, SEK 63.3 69.8 68.6 73.2 Households, foreign 13.3 13.0 7.5 7.0 currency Of which Hansapank 13.3 12.9 7.5 7.0 Other, foreign currency 37.1 33.9 24.7 22.4 Of which Hansapank 16.2 15.8 9.1 8.5 Subtotal 233.1 230.5 211.3 221.4 Discretionary management 21.1 19.4 21.5 22.3 Fund management 238.1 280.0 287.9 297.2 Retail bonds, interest- 3.2 3.1 3.1 4.1 bearing Retail bonds, stock 5.4 5.4 5.6 5.1 index Unit-linked fund 38.3 45.7 45.4 48.1 allocated insurance of which in Group - - 43.7 - - 46.5 companies 36.3 43.5 Total 502.9 540.4 531.3 551.7 Robur's share of net fund investments rose to approximately 19 percent Net contributions to Robur's funds during the first nine months of 2001 totalled approximately SEK 8.5 billion, against SEK 7.5 billion in the corresponding period previous year. Approximately SEK 4.0 billion (7.9) was insurance savings in Robur Försäkring. Robur's share of net investments in the fund market rose to 19 percent during the first three quarters, compared with 14 percent in the corresponding period of 2000. Fund management, Robur Sept June Dec Sept 30 30 31 30 2001 2001 2000 2000 Assets under management 238 280 288 297 (SEK bn) Of which: Swedish equities, % 26.8 34.0 34.0 32.8 Foreign equities, % 42.9 43.6 45.3 46.8 Interest-bearing 30.3 22.4 20.7 20.4 securities, % Number of customers 2,698 2,690 2,637 2,594 (thousands) Assets under management by Robur amounted to SEK 238 billion (288) as of September 30, 2001. The fact that assets under management decreased in spite of higher net contributions is due to declining prices on the world's stock markets, which has reduced the value of the funds' investments. Robur's share of assets under management in the fund market was 30 percent as of June 31, 2001. The subsidiary FöreningsSparbanken Kapitalförvaltning manages assets of SEK 34 billion (36), of which SEK 13 billion (13) is invested in Robur funds. Unit-linked insurance, Robur Försäkring Sept June Dec Sept 30 30 31 30 2001 2001 2000 2000 Assets under management 36 44 44 48 (SEK bn) Number of policies 592 599 498 465 (thousands) Sales (premiums paid) of fund-allocated unit-linked insurance amounted to SEK 7 billion (11) during the first three quarters of 2001. Net contributions during the same period amounted to SEK 4.3 billion (8.3). As of September 30, 2001 assets under management by Robur Försäkring amounted to approximately SEK 36 billion (44), a decrease of approximately SEK 8 billion since December 31, 2000. On a moving 12-month basis Robur Försäkring had a market share for new fund-allocated unit-linked insurance policies of 21 percent as of June 30, 2001. Robur Försäkring had approximately 592,000 (498,000) policies as of September 30, in addition to around 1 million (950,000) group life insurance policies. Asset management results During the first nine months of the year Swedish stock prices fell by nearly 30 percent, while globally, stock prices declined by approximately 15 percent, measured in Swedish kronor. Robur's largest equity funds, Allemansfonderna ("Public Savings Funds") and Kapitalinvest, fell by approximately 23 percent, which was in line with their respective indexes. In absolute terms, these funds' performance was slightly better than those that invest only on the Swedish market. The Swedish funds have decreased by 25 percent, or 3 percentage points better than their index. The highest returns were generated by commodity related funds - for example, the Russia Fund, which rose by 23 percent; the Forestry Fund, which rose by 3 percent; and the Commodities Fund, which fell by only 5 percent. The lowest returns were turned in by funds with a large share of growth stocks in their portfolios, such as the Contura Fund (- 47%), the Communication Fund (- 43%) and the Small-Cap Sweden Fund (- 43%). Robur's Balanced Funds, which invest in both equities and fixed income instruments, declined in value by 10 percent during the period. The equity portion of the funds, which accounts for approximately 50 percent of their assets, declined by 23 percent. The fixed-income portion, which represents the other half, rose by 3 percent. The return generated by the Balanced Funds was 2 percentage points lower than their corresponding index. Since the beginning of April, when Robur began managing these funds in accordance with its new investment process, they have outperformed their index by 1 percentage point. The fixed income market has produced a fairly steady return so far this year, regardless of maturities. The indexes for both short- and long- term fixed income funds have risen by 3.3 percent during the period. The returns produced by Robur's fixed income funds range between 2.8 and 3.4 percent. Adjusted for management fees, its long-term funds have slightly outperformed their indexes, while the short-term funds have developed in line with their respective indexes. Lending The Group's net lending to the public and credit institutions other than banks and the National Debt Office, excluding repurchase agreements (repos), amounted to approximately SEK 651 billion (608) as of September 30, an increase of SEK 43 billion or 7 percent since the beginning of the year. Lending by Hansapank and FIH totalled approximately SEK 98 billion (77). Approximately SEK 9 billion of the increase is due to fluctuating exchange rates. Since September 30, 2000 lending has risen by approximately SEK 57 billion or 10 percent. Loans to the household sector amounted to approximately SEK 285 billion (270), an increase of approximately SEK 15 billion or 6 percent. Slightly over 90 percent of which represents increased mortgage lending by Spintab. The increase primarily relates to private and agricultural loans arranged through the Swedish branch office network. Continued low exposure to telecom and IT companies The Group's exposure to companies in the IT and telecommunications industries amounted to SEK 8.3 billion (8.3) as of September 30, 2001. The large part of the exposure relates to large, well-known and financially strong Nordic companies in the telecommunications sector. Lending, the Group SEK billion Sept June Dec Sept 30 30 31 30 2001 2001 2000 2000 Households 285.2 281.7 270.1 264.9 Of which Spintab 223.9 219.6 210.1 205.9 Real estate 136.7 135.0 131.1 130.3 management Retail, hotels, 24.9 25.1 23.5 22.6 restaurants Construction 10.6 10.5 9.6 9.4 Manufacturing 51.1 49.4 43.7 41.4 Transportation 15.5 13.7 11.5 10.0 Forestry and 27.2 26.5 25.4 24.8 agriculture Other service 14.6 15.5 15.6 16.3 businesses Other business lending, 61.9 59.3 50.3 46.6 incl. credit institutions Municipalities *) 13.4 13.5 14.3 14.4 Other 10.0 10.3 12.8 13.6 Subtotal 651.1 640.5 607.9 594.3 Repurchase agreements 38.0 25.6 28.6 26.4 (repos) Total 689.1 666.1 636.5 620.7 Of which Hansapank 22.2 20.0 15.3 13.2 Of which FIH 75.4 71.4 61.4 54.6 *) Not including municipal companies. Payments Customers' card use continues to rise FöreningsSparbanken's card operations continued to grow. As of September 30 the Bank had approximately 2.6 million cards in issue, a gain of around 90,000 or 4 percent compared with December 31, 2000. Customers' card use continues to rise. The number of card transactions cleared climbed to 167 million (125) during the period January-September, up 34 percent from the corresponding period of 2000. e-billing With e-billing, bills are sent directly to customers' online bank accounts, where they can safely and conveniently approve payment. During the third quarter six more companies signed on for the service, bringing the total to 85. Agreements have been signed with another 27 companies that will offer e-billing to their customers. Giro The Bank's customers are increasingly switching from paper-based giro payments to an electronic, Internet-based giro system via FöreningsSparbanken by Internet. The share of Internet-based giro transactions rose from 24 percent till 31 percent during the period January-September 2001 compared with the corresponding period of 2000. Retail The branch network is organized into 95 local banks around the country. With its 556 branches, FöreningsSparbanken has the largest network of any Swedish bank. The cooperation with the partly owned and independent savings banks adds another 333 branches. The branch network is complemented by 296 in-store banking locations, in addition to which the agreement with Posten, the Swedish postal service, which allows customers to receive help with certain teller transactions at 1,267 post offices and through 2,700 rural mailmen. FöreningsSparbanken by Telephone As of September 30, 2001 approximately 1,180,000 customers (1,000,000) had signed up for FöreningsSparbanken by Telephone with personal assistance, an increase of 180,000 or 18 percent compared with a year earlier. The number of telephone banking customers who use the self- service option was approximately 2.0 million (1.9). The number of self- service visits to the telephone bank decreased by 1 percent compared with the corresponding period a year earlier. The number of visitors to the telephone bank using personal assistance rose by 3 percent during the first three quarters of 2001 compared with the corresponding period 2000. Swedbank Markets Swedbank Markets is the Bank's Investment and Merchant Banking unit and is responsible for institutional and large corporate customers. The business area offers trading in securities and derivatives in the equity, fixed income and currency markets as well as financing solutions and professional analysis and advice. The analysis unit issues a steady stream of analyses on around 150 Nordic companies. In fixed income and currency trading, Swedbank Markets maintained or increased its overall market shares during the third quarter. Its stock trading, on the other hand, was affected during September, by investor nervousness due to the events in the U.S. and Afghanistan. Corporate Finance advised Talisman Energy and mediated the payment for the purchase of Lundin Oil. For individual investors, Swedbank Markets offers stock trading and broad-market products through FöreningsSparbanken's retail organization, the independent savings banks, partly owned banks, FöreningsSparbanken by Internet and FöreningsSparbanken by Telephone. One example is FöreningsSparbanken's SPAX stock index bond, a broad-market product whose return is linked to the performance of an official stock index. In September FöreningsSparbanken issued three SPAX products tied to the indexes for Stockholmsbörsen, the U.S. stock market and a basket of the best companies in Europe's banking, health care and technology sectors. As of September 30 NetTrade - the Bank's online brokerage service - had 53,700 customers, an increase of 41 percent compared with September 30, 2000. NetTrade accounted for 33 (24) percent of transactions at local banks. Alliances Denmark FöreningsSparbanken owns 65 percent of FI-Holding, which in turn owns nearly 100 percent of FIH. FIH's operating profit for the period January- September amounted to SEK 832 M (570). Its return on equity was 12.7 percent (14.7). Lending to the public amounted to SEK 75 billion (61) on September 30, 2001, with total assets of approximately SEK 92 billion (78). Baltic states FöreningsSparbanken owns slightly less than 58 percent of Estonia's Hansapank, which reported an operating profit of SEK 814 M (503) in the first three quarters of 2001. Its return on equity was 27.5 percent (23.7). Deposits from the public amounted to SEK 29 billion (17) as of September 30, while lending to the public totalled SEK 22 billion (15). Total assets were approximately SEK 42 billion (26) on the same date. Since June 1, 2001 Lietuvos Taupomasis Bankas (LTB) is included in the Hansapank Group. Reported result has been marginally affected. During the third quarter LTB's income amounted to slightly over SEK 100 M, with an operating profit of SEK 10 M. LTB's total assets amounted to approximately SEK 9 billion on September 30, 2001. Norway FöreningsSparbanken owns 25 percent of SpareBank 1 Gruppen. Sparebank 1 Gruppen, together with its Norwegian co-owner banks, is the fourth largest banking and financial group in Norway. Earnings for the group's insurance operations were affected by falling stock prices. Goodwill amortization attributable to the acquisition of VÅR-gruppen last year also had a negative effect on earnings. Finland FöreningsSparbanken owns slightly less than 25 percent of Aktia Sparbank in Finland. Aktia reported operating profit of approximately SEK 248 M (309) in the first nine months of 2001. Its return on equity was 15.9 percent (28.6). Deposits amounted to SEK 18 billion (16), while lending totalled SEK 20 billion kronor (17). Total assets as of September 30, 2001 amounted to SEK 33 billion (26). E-business The Group's Internet banking services Sept 30 June 30 Dec 31 Sept 2001 2001 2000 30 2000 Number of customers 967,000 900,000 749,000 666,00 in Sweden 0 Of whom private 886,000 823,000 691,000 619,00 customers 0 Of whom business 81,000 77,000 58,000 47,000 customers Telephone bank via 80,000 65,000 65,000 73,000 the Internet Number of Baltic 383,000 315,000 214,000 170,00 customers 0 Total number of 1,430,0 1,280,0 1,028,0 909,00 customers 00 00 00 0 Customers' Internet use continues to rise The number of Internet payments rose compared with the period January- September 2000, from 22 million to 36 million. Of the giro payments during the first nine months of the year, 31 percent (24) were made online. Twenty percent (21) of the total number of fund purchases and redemptions were made via the Internet as well. Business customers' use of e-payrolls is growing quickly The e-payroll service introduced by FöreningsSparbanken by Internet a year ago allows businesses to administer their payrolls via the Internet bank. Since the start 21,852 companies have signed agreements to add the service, an increase of approximately 2,100 in the last quarter. New Internet bank for young people FöreningsSparbanken is the first bank in Sweden to start an Internet bank especially for young people. In addition to basic banking services, the bank will offer its young account holders such features as interesting newspaper and magazine articles and games. In a pilot project, some 3,000 youngsters from 15 to 17 years of age will test the service until the end of the year. A full-scale launch is expected to follow early next year. "The Bank via Internet - Young" is based on a totally new technical platform that utilizes state-of-the-art technology. The same platform will underlie FöreningsSparbanken's future development and provide services for all its digital media, e.g. Internet, mobile services and digital TV. Firstviewbank liquidated FöreningsSparbanken has decided to phase out the operations of its Danish Internet bank, Firstviewbank. The liquidation will take place gradually during the autumn, as Firstviewbank's customers are offered alternative solutions in the Danish market. Liquidation costs of approximately SEK 60 M have been charged against third-quarter earnings. Other FöreningsSparbanken and SEB call off merger preparations On September 19 FöreningsSparbanken and SEB announced that they had withdrawn their notification to the European Commission concerning the planned merger of the two banks. The decision was made after it was established that the Commission's approval would have required such extensive concessions that the value of the merger would have been lost due to, among other things, a lack of synergies. Bank included in important sustainability index For the second consecutive year FöreningsSparbanken has been selected for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, DJSI, which ranks the world's 2000 largest companies based on financial, environmental and social criteria. The 200 or so companies which rank highest are included in the index. Accounting change The interim report has been prepared in accordance with recommendation RR 20 of the Swedish Financial Accounting Standards Council and follows the same accounting principles as the most recent annual report, with the exceptions that comply with the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority's amended principles for insurance companies, which simplify consolidation. As of 2001 an operational profit and loss account has been introduced. The operational profit and loss account comprises the same legal entities and follows the same accounting principles as the legal profit and loss account, except that the items related to the insurance operations are integrated into the income and expenses of other operations. The descriptions in the running text of this interim report are based on the operational profit and loss account, unless indicated otherwise. The business area review is also based on the operational accounts. Stockholm, October 23, 2001 FöreningsSparbanken AB (publ) Birgitta Johansson-Hedberg President and Chief Executive Officer For further information, please contact: Nils-Fredrik Nyblæus, Deputy President, Accounting and Finance phone + 46 8 5859 2532 Staffan Salén, Executive Vice President, Information and Investor Relations phone + 46 8 5859 2779, + 46 705 310 111 Financial information The Group's financial reports can be accessed on FöreningsSparbanken's home page at http://www. foreningssparbanken.se/ir or at the nearest branch of FöreningsSparbanken. Current financial information is also published in Sweden on TV4's text- TV, page 182. The next issue of the Swedish shareholder magazine Banktidningen will be published in February 2002. FöreningsSparbanken will release its next earnings report on the following dates: Year-end report for 2001 February 14, 2002 Interim report January - March 2002 April 26 Interim report January - June 2002 August 23 Interim report January - September 2002 October 25 The Annual General Meeting in 2002 will be held in Sundsvall on April 11. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/10/23/20011023BIT00830/bit0001.doc The full report http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/10/23/20011023BIT00830/bit0001.pdf The full report