The ratings on Sweden-based Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) reflect the successful defense of the group's core franchise in corporate banking as well as the group's heightened attention to risk-adjusted earnings. Moreover, the retail business in Sweden has been revitalized and is contributing positively to group performance. All of this, together with a tight cost discipline, has resulted in improving performance, despite still-sluggish market conditions. Group performance is also supported by the operations in the Baltic countries, while in Germany SEB is still under-performing relative to group financial targets. SEB ranks as the third-largest financial services group in the Nordic region. Its most important operations are in Sweden and Germany, and the group is growing rapidly in the Baltic region.
