Swedish banking group Swedbank reported better-than-expected second-quarter results on Thursday, partly due to participation in several IPOs which boosted commission income.
Swedbank posted second-quarter net profit 6.3 billion sek versus mean forecast 5.5 billion sek in a Reuters poll.
Result were helped by the finalization of Visa's acquisition of Visa Europe during the quarter, which resulted in tax-exempt income of 2.1 billion crowns
Swedbank's reported second-quarter net interest income 5.7 billion sek versus mean forecast for 5.7 billion sek in Reuters poll
Higher lending volumes, especially for Swedish mortgages, and higher lending margins contributed to the increase, but were offset by slightly lower deposit margins.
Swedbank reported loan losses 538 million sek versus mean forecast for 350 million sek in a Reuters poll. Loan losses were higher due to some offshore oil-related commitments in Norway.
The bank's net commission income was 2.8 billion sek versus mean forecast 2.7 billion sek in a Reuters poll. The commission increase was mainly due to higher income from corporate finance after Swedbank served as an advisor and guarantor in several major initial public offerings.
Swedbank said the Swedish and Baltic economies stand strong after Brexit, but will still be affected if global business activity is dampened due to uncertainty.
Swedbank CEO Bonnessen said he has seen a slight softening in Swedish loan demand following amortization requirement introduced on June 1.