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STOCKHOLM(Reuters) -Swedish bank Swedbank on Wednesday reported a slightly lower-than-expected operating profit for the fourth quarter as weaker results from fixed income trading weighed and global supply problems tempered economic growth.
After tracking a robust recovery from the first waves of the pandemic through much of 2021, Nordic economies were again dampened somewhat by the spread of the Omicron variant and related restrictions during the tail-end of year.
Pandemic curbs are already being eased in some markets with more set to follow, limiting the scope of the setback for economies also dealing with resurgent inflation that has upset the zero interest rate environment for banks and customers.
Sweden’s oldest retail bank said in a statement that fourth quarter operating profit dipped to 5.97 billion Swedish crowns ($644.93 million) from a year-ago 6.18 billion, narrowly lagging the 6.10 billion seen by analysts in a Refinitiv poll.
Commission income at Swedbank rose to 4.02 billion crowns from 3.38 billion crowns a year earlier while interest income, which includes income from mortgages, dipped slightly to 6.55 billion crowns from 6.57 billion crowns a year earlier.
Polled analysts had seen commissions at 3.81 billion crowns and interest income at 6.62 billion.
Meanwhile, net credit impairments were positive to the tune on 67 million crowns, implying reversals of previously projected losses, but the hard-to-predict gains on financial items fell 71% year-on-year, dented by the lower fixed income trading.
As economic conditions have normalised, Swedbank has been lifting payouts to shareholders put on hold at the height of the pandemic. Late on Tuesday, it announced it was proposing a special dividend of 2 crowns per share, taking the total proposed payout for 2021 to 11.25 crowns per share.
($1 = 9.2568 Swedish crowns)
Reporting by Johan Ahlander, editing by Niklas Pollard
