Winning party for SEB

SEB reported an operating profit of SEK 7,475 million for the first quarter of 2021. Analysts calculated an average of SEK 6,163 million according to a set of 19 analyst forecasts prepared by Infront prior to the report.

SEB’s net interest income for the first quarter of 2021 was 6,396 million SEK, a decrease of 2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, and an increase of 3% compared to the same period of the previous year.

The result was 2 percent better than the average estimate in the Infront Analyst aggregation, which was 6300 million SEK.

Compared to the previous quarter, the settlement and deposit guarantee fees increased. The number of interest earning days had a negative effect, while the lower financing costs had a positive effect on the net interest income, “wrote SEB.

Net interest income paid by customer decreased by 262 million SEK compared to the fourth quarter. The first quarter was less than 2 days, which had a negative impact on net interest income.

The adjustment in the internal rate of return resulted in lower margins for customer-driven deposits and an increase in net interest income from other activities.

The negative impact on net interest income from other activities (including, for example, financing and other treasury operations, trade and government fees) improved by 99 million SEK to 315 million SEK, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

Net commission, an important revenue line for SEB, was largely unchanged from the fourth quarter and amounted to 4,776 million SEK, which is 2 per cent higher than the Infront consensus.

Corporate clients remained active, but in line with the seasonal effects, total commissions from issues and advice decreased by 34 million SEK to 322 million SEK. With the decline in conventional lending, total loan commissions have decreased by 90 million SEK to 686 million SEB, writes SEB.

Net commissions from payment brokerage and card operations decreased by 84 million SEK to 762 million SEK.

The negative impact of covid-19 on payment and card activity was evident compared to the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter of last year. The positive aspect was that the card business for private clients continued to improve from the low point during the pandemic last year, “SEB wrote.

Commissions based on profit amounted to 219 million SEK and increased by 121 million SEK compared to the fourth quarter, mainly due to a larger item that is not expected to return. Compared to the corresponding quarter in 2020, it increased by 168 million SEK.

Maintain the target cost for 2021

SEB maintains the 2021 target cost of 23 billion SEK (+/- 200 million SEK) based on 2018 exchange rates.

The SEB business plan previously presented for the period 2019-2021 includes a number of strategic initiatives which together are expected to include additional investments totaling SEK 2-2.5 billion over the three-year period 2019-2021, which means an annual cost increase of SEK 1 billion in 2021.