Progress of the Exchange Offer to Merita Shareholders

Progress of the Exchange Offer to Merita Shareholders Based on the registration of acceptances as at December 20, 1999, the exchange offer made by Nordbanken Holding AB (publ) to shareholders of Merita Plc has so far been accepted by shareholders representing 80.218 per cent of the shares and votes in Merita. Acceptances have been received from more than 90 per cent of those domestic shareholders whose holdings are registered in book-entry accounts with Merita Bank. Final acceptances are still awaited, for example, from foreign shareholders whose shares are registered in nominee names and shareholders listed in other domestic book-entry registers. The exchange offer will expire on January 20, 2000. If the exchange offer is accepted by shareholders representing more than 90 per cent of the shares and votes, title to Merita shares and, correspondingly, title to Nordbanken Holding subscription receipts will be transferred on or around Friday, January 21, 2000. Upon completion of the exchange offer, trading in Merita exchanged shares is scheduled to end on January 24, 2000. At the same time, trading in Nordbanken Holding subscription receipts will commence on the pre-list of the Helsinki Exchanges. Trading in Nordbanken Holding subscription receipts is scheduled to end on January 31, 2000, with trading in Nordbanken Holding FDRs commencing on the main list of the Helsinki Exchanges. In accordance with the terms and conditions of the exchange offer, the final result of the offer will be announced upon the expiry of the acceptance period. Furthermore, an official announcement will be issued as required by the Finnish Securities Markets Act as soon as Nordbanken Holding's ownership in Merita Plc has exceeded 90 per cent. Trading in Merita shares not exchanged will continue without interruption on the main list of the Helsinki Exchanges until the exchange offer has been completed and the Helsinki Exchanges have approved the de-listing of Merita shares. Further information: Lars Thalén, Senior Vice President, Corporate Identity and Communications, tel. +46 8 614 7951 Björn Westberg, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, tel. +46 8 614 7850 Taina Mäkijärvi, Vice President, Investor Relations, tel. +358 9 165 43041 Lauri Peltola, Press Relations Manager, tel. +358 9 165 42324 Not to be distributed in the USA, Australia, Canada and Japan. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/21/19991221BIT00530/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/21/19991221BIT00530/bit0002.pdf