In its memorandum, the Supervisory Authority also states that the big four Swedish banks can together reduce their capital bases by approximately SEK 90 billion without contravening the statutory capital adequacy requirements.

 

As at 30 June 2008, Handelsbanken's share of the SEK 90 billion buffer was SEK 27 billion.

 

"This means that our financial position relative to the market is very strong. If we look at our buffer capital in relation to our business volumes, this picture becomes even clearer," says Ulf Riese, CFO of Handelsbanken.

 

Handelsbanken's buffer is 35 percent higher than the capital requirement under the current transitional rules. The corresponding figure calculated according to the new Basel II rules, excluding the transitional rules, is approximately 100 percent.

 

The Supervisory Authority also states in its memorandum that the big four banks can tolerate loan losses in the Baltics of 10 percent. Handelsbanken has negligible lending volumes in the Baltics, and irrespective of the amount, any loan losses in the region would only have a negligible impact on the Bank's financial position.