Hansabank Group CEO Indrek Neivelt resigns - Erkki Raasuke appointed new acting CEO

Indrek Neivelt announced today that he is resigning from his position as CEO and chairman of the Hansabank Board. He will leave the bank as of 22 April 2005. Erkki Raasuke, vice chairman of the Board and head of the Group’s Estonian business unit will be appointed as the new acting CEO and chairman of the board. As a result of Swedbank’s buy-out of the minority shareholders the role of Hansabank Group in the new organisation will be reviewed in the near term. Erkki Raasuke will be the acting CEO of Hansabank Group during this period. “We are very pleased that Mr. Raasuke has accepted this important position as acting chairman. As a member of the management, Mr. Raasuke has indeed been a leading contributor to Hansabank’s success story over the years,” says Mr. Anders Ek, chairman of the Supervisory Council. “We appreciate Mr. Neivelt’s outstanding contribution to Hansabank during the past years. Together with his management he has developed the Hansabank Group into a strong pan-Baltic financial group and a clear leader in its domestic market. We accept his decision to step down from his position and wish him the best of luck in the future,” says Mr. Ek. “One stage in our Group’s history – as a listed company has come to end. This period has been very interesting and motivating,” says Mr. Indrek Neivelt. “I have been in Hansabank since the very beginning and the last 6 years as the CEO of the Group. Hansabank Group has developed very rapidly over the years and we have a strong market position in each of the three Baltic countries. I am happy to see that our Group is working as a common team and is stronger than ever. I am grateful to all my colleagues as it has been a pleasure working with you in Hansabank.” ”As a long-term and close colleague of Indrek Neivelt and vice-chairman of the Board I find it natural to assume the responsibility of acting CEO during this transitional period,” says Mr. Erkki Raasuke. “Hansabank is now in a new position and I am looking forward to working with my colleagues both in Hansabank and Swedbank. The recent changes do not influence our daily operations – our managers’ priorities are with our Group’s employees and clients and we continue to serve our customers with the same high quality as previously.” Hansabank (www.hansagroup.com), a subsidiary of FöreningsSparbanken AB (Swedbank), is the largest financial group in the Baltic countries. Hansabank has 6,000 employees and close to 4 million customers, including 1.3 million e-banking customers. Established in 1991, the Group today has total assets close to 8.5 billion euros and controls 1/3 of the Baltic banking market. In 2002 the Group expanded its operations to Russia, where it concentrates on serving the Group’s Baltic, Scandinavian and Russian corporate customers. For further information: Anders Ek, Chairman of the Council, Hansabank, +46 8 5859 2666 Henrik Kolga, Head of Corporate Communications, Swedbank, +46 708 111315 Jonas Blomberg, Head of Investor Relations, Swedbank, +46 702 650133