Swedbank estimates that total expenses for the full year of 2020 will amount to
around SEK 21.5bn, excluding the administrative penalty of SEK 4bn imposed by
the Swedish FSA. The increase of SEK 1.5bn compared to the previous estimate is
mainly the result of higher spending on the AML-related investigations, further
strengthening of the work against money laundering, and increased efforts to
mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the society and on our customers.
Swedbank will also report credit impairments amounting to around SEK 2.2bn
during the first quarter of 2020, mainly related to the COVID-19 crisis.

Total expenses for the full year of 2020
As the Swedish and Estonian authorities, as well as Clifford Chance, have
finalised their investigations, the bank now has a complete picture of the
historical deficiencies in the processes to counter economic crime. With this,
we can better estimate the costs associated with both the investigations and the
action program aimed at addressing the bank's shortcomings in this work. The
cost for the investigations is currently estimated at a total of SEK 1.55bn for
2020, which corresponds to an increase of SEK 750m compared to the previous
estimate. These costs include the finalised Clifford Chance investigation, the
ongoing evaluations of the bank's compliance and culture, the validation of the
bank's action program and legal advice during the year.

In addition, the bank will further strengthen its work against economic crime
taking into consideration the conclusions reached in the various investigations.
The action program is estimated to cost a total of SEK 1.1bn for the full year
of 2020, an increase of SEK 250m compared to the previous forecast. The bank's
ambition is to be a leading bank in the work against money laundering.

Swedbank has also decided to increase its efforts to mitigate the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic on our customers. These initiatives include increased
accessibility in channels that do not require physical meetings, such as the
telephone bank and the digital channels. In addition, we increase the capacity
and strengthen the stability of our IT systems to handle the increased data
traffic. All in all, we expect this to increase costs for 2020 by approximately
SEK 250m.

Furthermore, the weakening of the Swedish krona leads to nominally rising costs.
Based on exchange rates at the end of the first quarter, the full-year effect on
expenses is estimated to be approximately SEK 250m. At the same time, we would
like to reiterate that a weaker Swedish krona is positive for the bank's net
profit.In summary, total expenses for the full year of 2020 are expected to
amount to around SEK 21.5bn, excluding the administrative penalty of SEK 4bn
imposed by the Swedish FSA.


Total expenses 2020 (SEK billion)[1/]

                           Previous estimate  New estimate
AML investigations                      0.80          1.55
AML-related development                 0.85          1.10
COVID-19 related expenses                  .          0.25
FX effects                                 .          0.25
Underlying expenses                    18.35         18.35
Total expenses                         20.00         21.50

1/ Excluding the administrative penalty of SEK 4bn imposed by the Swedish FSA
Credit provisions during the first quarter of 2020
The financial strains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be extensive in our
home markets. With our strong financial position in terms of capital and
liquidity, Swedbank has good possibilities to support its corporate and private
customers. Deteriorating macroeconomic forecasts do, however, lead to an
increase in our credit impairments. In our assessment, we have taken several
factors into consideration, including the extensive stimulus packages launched
by the authorities. We have also taken into account that the amortisation
deferrals introduced by the authorities due to the COVID-19 crisis do not,
currently, automatically lead to a need for provisions. The prevailing
uncertainty means that we cannot yet make a complete assessment at an individual
level for the entire loan portfolio. For several sectors, therefore, general
provisions have been made at portfolio level. For the oil-related sectors,
however, provisions have been made for individual exposures corresponding to SEK
0.8bn.

In total during the first quarter of 2020, we will report credit impairments, as
a result of increased credit provisions, corresponding to around SEK 2.2bn. The
situation caused by COVID-19 is unique and difficult to assess, and the
situation is changing rapidly. We will continue to monitor macroeconomic
developments and make new assessments of the credit quality of the loan
portfolio in the coming quarters.

First quarter result
The Swedish Financial Supervision Authority imposed administrative penalty of
SEK 4bn, credit impairments equivalent to around SEK 2.2bn together with rising
expenses are expected to lead to a negative result during the first quarter of
2020. The administrative penalty will be accounted for as a non-tax deductible
operating expense.

Swedbank is a low-risk bank with over 65 per cent of its lending to mortgages
with historically low credit impairments. The bank has a good earnings capacity
and a strong capital and liquidity position. This provides a solid base for
supporting our corporate and private customers, and for managing the arisen
COVID-19 related crisis.

Swedbank's interim report for the first quarter will be published on Thursday,
April 23 at 7:00 CET.

For further information:
Gregori Karamouzis, Head of Investor Relations, telephone: +46 72 740 63 38


This announcement involves the disclosure of inside information
Swedbank AB (publ) is required to disclose this information pursuant to
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 on market abuse, the Swedish Securities Markets Act
(2007:528), the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act (1991:980) and the
regulatory framework of Nasdaq Stockholm. This information was sent to be
published on April 8, 2020 at 07:00 CET.

Swedbank encourages a sound and sustainable financial situation for the many
households and businesses. As a leading bank in our home markets of Sweden,
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Swedbank offers a wide range of financial
services and products. Swedbank has over 7 million retail customers and around
600 000 corporate customers and organisations with 168 branches in Sweden and 99
branches in the Baltic countries. The group is also present in other Nordic
countries, the US and China. As of 31 December, 2019 the group had operating
profit of 24 420 SEKbn. Read more at www.swedbank.com

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