Well-diversified revenue base by geography and business areas Entrenched franchise in core business areas, particularly merchant banking Sustained earnings capacity underpinned by improved efficiency and revenue growth Enhanced capitalization Asset quality uncertainty caused by sizeable exposure to the Baltic countries High proportion of capital markets-related revenues Concentration risk arising from some large exposure to single names The ratings on Sweden-based Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) reflect the group's well-diversified revenue base, underpinned by its strong franchise in corporate and merchant banking in Sweden. They also reflect the group's sustained profitability and tight cost discipline. Capitalization has been significantly enhanced by a Swedish krona (SEK) 15 billion rights issue announced in February 2009. Asset quality remains resilient but is likely to
