FöreningsSparbanken’s Board of Directors proposes name change

The Board of Directors of FöreningsSparbanken is proposing to the Annual General Meeting on April 25 to change the name of the parent company to Swedbank, which is the international name for the bank since 1983. Provided that the meeting adopts the Board’s proposal, a review of the brand structure for the entire Group will commence later this year.

“The Board of Directors’ proposal is a reflection of the bank’s international growth objectives. Over the long term we will get the most out of our communication with customers, partners and the marketplaces by operating under a single brand,” says Carl Eric Stålberg, Chairman of the Board. “If the Board’s proposal is adopted by the General Meeting, the process of streamlining the Group’s brand portfolio will begin with the objective to shift towards a single brand. The time needed to change the names of individual units will be determined by our position and customer relations in each market. Our ambition is to manage existing brands in a responsible way. For example, when it comes to the Group’s Baltic operations, Hansabank, I do not foresee a rapid change,” says Carl Eric Stålberg. FöreningsSparbanken’s strategy is to expand to new geographic markets and new segments of the markets where the Group is already active. In addition to Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia, the Group also operates in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Luxembourg, Marbella, New York, Oslo, Shanghai, and Tokyo. The Group currently has 8.5 million private customers, more than half of which are outside Sweden, and a total of over 400,000 corporate customers. About a third of its 750 branches are in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Of nearly 16,000 employees, four out of ten are outside Sweden. For further information, please contact: Carl Eric Stålberg, Chairman of the Board, phone: +46 8 585 912 96 Henrik Kolga, Head of Corporate Communication, phone: +46 70 811 13 15