SEB Closes Good 2022 but Doesn't Guide on Loan Losses for 2023 Due to Uncertainty

No-moat Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, or SEB, reported fourth-quarter operating profits of SEK 9.590 billion, up 5% on a sequential basis. Performance was good overall, as operating income of SEK 18.829 billion (up 14%) more than compensated for 7% higher operating expenses. SEB posted a 14.7% return on equity, which included a SEK 1.4 billion impairment for its Russian operation. Excluding this one off, SEB’s return on equity stood at 17.4%, rounding out a good year for the banking group. We maintain our fair value estimate of SEK 123 per share.