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, growth in business volume in retail banking primarily in Sweden, asset management, life insurance, and banking in Eastern Europe are factors supporting group earnings. Together with tight cost discipline, this has resulted in improving performance. In Germany, SEB is still under-performing relative to group financial targets, and this remains a constraint in Standard&Poor's assessment. SEB ranks as the third-largest financial services group in the Nordic region. Its largest operations by assets are in Sweden and Germany, and the group is growing rapidly in the Baltic region.
