SEB's Quarterly Net Profit Falls as Lower Interest Rates Weigh on Income

By Dominic Chopping

STOCKHOLM--Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken reported a drop in quarterly net profit as net interest income fell due to lower interest rates and the market values of certain strategic holdings declined, while costs increased.

The Sweden-based bank posted third-quarter net profit of 7.68 billion kronor, equivalent to $816.3 million, down from 9.45 billion kronor a year earlier. That compared with the 7.81 billion kronor forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Net interest income fell 7.5% to 10.42 billion kronor, compared with the 10.17 billion kronor expected.

"We reported a solid result in a seasonally slower and less volatile market," Chief Executive Johan Torgeby said Thursday. "The customer activity in corporate & investment banking was slower due to the summer months, although investment banking showed resilience."

The bank said it is seeing growing demand in the security and defense sector and is working to meet this demand with relevant advisory services and products.

To future-proof the bank, it also continues to develop artificial-intelligence solutions across several new areas.

Its cost target for 2025 remains at 33 billion kronor, plus or minus 300 million kronor. With average foreign-exchange rates so far during 2025, the implied cost target is 32.6 billion kronor.

The bank's common equity Tier 1 ratio--a key measure of financial strength--stood at 18.2% at the end of the quarter, down from 19.4% a year prior.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2025 01:23 ET (05:23 GMT)