Handelsbanken buys back own shares

Handelsbanken buys back own shares The Central Board of Directors of Svenska Handelsbanken decided today to take the opportunity to repurchase the Bank's own shares as authorised by the Annual General Meeting. The Central Board has decided to purchase ordinary class A and/or B shares for a maximum of SEK 4 billion during the period up until the next Annual General Meeting. Purchases will be made on the Stockholm Stock Exchange at the market price applying on the purchase dates. The aim of the buy-back is to optimise the bank's capital structure over the said period. Repurchases for SEK 4 billion at a notional share price of SEK 110 would imply an increase of about 3 % in earnings per share calculated on a twelve-month basis, while return on equity, all else being equal, would rise by about 1.5 percentage points. Repurchases of this type are not expected to have any effect on the Bank's rating. Even after the repurchases, the Bank will have a sufficient capital base for continued growth in its operations. For further information, please contact: Sven Grevelius, Head of Central Control and Accounting Tel +46 8 22 92 20 e-mail svgr01@handelsbanken.se Lars Lindmark, Head of Corporate Communications Tel +46 8 701 10 36 e-mail lali12@handelsbanken.se Bengt Ragnå, Head of Investor Relations Tel +46 8 701 12 16 e-mail bera02@handelsbanken.se ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/18/20000418BIT00600/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/18/20000418BIT00600/bit0002.pdf