Swedbank’s exposure to Lehman Brothers

Following the event of Lehman Brothers Investment Bank’s request for bankruptcy protection, Swedbank want to communicate its exposure to Lehman Brothers.

Since the early 1990s, Swedbank and Lehman Brothers has been commercial partners, bank-to-bank, within custody, finance and derivatives trading.

As of today, Swedbank has a non-secured and a secured exposure:

1. Swedbank’s unsecured exposure currently amounts to SEK 202 million. It is composed of derivatives of SEK 80 million and bonds with a nominal value of SEK 122 million, relating to six companies within the Lehman Brothers Group. It is too early to say if eventual provisions and/or write-offs will be necessary, or to what extent.

2. Swedbank also has a secured exposure of USD 1,350 million. The collateral consists of a pool of 70 real estate debtors, with a variety of US real estate of substantial geographical diversity with a maximum loan to value ratio of 72% as underlying asset. The collateral has initially been evaluated by an independent valuation firm and valuations are continuously being altered based on the ongoing development of real estate prices. Swedbank does not consider any provisions necessary and will not act to liquidate any holdings prematurely. The collateral will only fall below USD 1,350 million if the value of the real estate collateral would fall 30% below its current market value.

A telephone conference will be held today at 9:30 CET, phone +44 (0)207 1620 177. The telephone conference will be held in English.

For furhter information, please contact:
Mikael Inglander, CFO and CAO, Swedbank, +46 8 585 913 14
Johannes Rudbeck, Investor Relations Director, Swedbank, +46 705 82 56 56