Swedbank AB (publ) (SWED_A) Q4 2025 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Thank you for dialing in this morning. I am Maria Kahneman, Head of Investor Relations here at Swedbank. Welcome to our fourth quarter 2025 results presentation. I'm joined today by our CEO, Jens Henriksson, and our CFO, Jon Lederfelt. Jens and Jon will start with their presentation, and then there will be an opportunity to ask questions. With that, I would like to hand it over to Jens. Thank you, Maria. 2025 was a successful year for Swedbank. The target of a sustainable return on equity of 15% was achieved. During 2025, the global economy was, despite tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty, more resilient than expected. A few weeks ago, the International Monetary Fund released an update to its world economic outlook. It revised the world growth forecast slightly upwards for this year against the backdrop of a steady and resilient economy. However, with renewed global tensions and strained public finances, global growth could be curbed. In our home markets, the economic situation continues to brighten thanks to large investments and strong private consumption. In Sweden, the recovery began in the second half of 2025 and our economies expect growth of more than 2.5% in 2026. Lithuania had a strong development in 2025, and growth is expected to pick up further this year. In Estonia and Latvia, growth also is likely to rise in 2026. In these times, Swedbank has once again delivered a strong result. For the fourth quarter, we saw a return on equity of 14.7% and a return on equity for the full year was 15.2%. Costs developed as planned and the cost-to-income ratio was 0.36% both during the quarter and for the full year. Cost control is a strategically important issue and is reflected in all parts of the bank. Credit quality is solid. Earnings per share for 2025 amounted to...