SEB AB, the largest Swedish bank by market capitalization, posted a third-quarter net interest income that matched analysts’ estimates as it said the benefit of rising interest rates is starting to wane.
The Stockholm-based lender said its profits from borrowing and lending activities rose 37% from a year earlier in the three months through September, to 12.25 billion kronor ($1.1 billion). Analysts were expecting an outcome of 12.18 billion kronor.
“Rising interest rates continued to have a positive effect on the results in the quarter, however, the positive effect on net interest income has abated compared with previous quarters,” Chief Executive Officer Johan Torgeby said in a statement on Wednesday.
Net income rose 45% from the same quarter last year to 10.58 billion kronor, beating the average analyst estimate of 8.84 billion kronor.
SEB has like its peers been able to enjoy the tailwinds from rising central bank interest rates by still keeping deposit rates low, allowing them to pocket the difference. Still, that source of further growth may soon fade as monetary authorities near a peak in borrowing costs.
Soaring bank profits have also been met with anger among politicians. SEB and its Swedish competitor Swedbank AB are the largest lenders in the Baltic countries, where politicians are taking initiatives to bring down bank profits as well as ease the burden for debt-laden consumers. Recently, Latvia’s parliament said it will consider legislation to force banks to cut interest rates on mortgages by 50% for one year to ease costs for borrowers.
Meanwhile, in Sweden, the second biggest party in parliament has effectively blocked a proposal by the opposition Social Democrats to impose a temporary tax on the profits of the country’s banks.
--With assistance from Anton Wilen and Christopher Jungstedt.
