STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 4, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The new board elected by Skandia's Annual General Meeting on 15 April 2004 was given a mandate to take responsibility for Skandia's development moving forward. Future matters require the full attention of the Board and company management. At the same time, the follow-up of the various examinations of past events will require a continued strong work effort. Above all, a number of legal processes will have to be carried out in the best possible manner before Skandia can draw a line and dedicate its undivided attention on the future. The Board has carried out a review of its work duties in the aim of finding solutions that reconcile these special demands and that can satisfy the requirement for resources and expertise.
As a result of this review, it has been decided that Skandia will be represented by the law firm Gernandt & Danielsson in its negotiations with Skandia Liv and the law firm Setterwalls in ongoing litigation with former senior executives.
A division of work duties has also been established within the Board, whereby Vice Chairman Bjorn Bjornsson has been given special responsibility for pursuing and following up the issues surrounding past conditions and circumstances that were uncovered by the Rydbeck investigation and other inquiries that Skandia commissioned in 2003.
This responsibility pertains above all to Skandia's litigation with former senior executives, the arbitration proceedings between Skandia and Skandia Liv, and the questions and urgings made at the Annual General Meeting on 15 April with respect to previous bonus payments.
Bernt Magnusson, Chairman of the Board, comments:
"The task assigned to the Board by the AGM mainly concerns Skandia's current and future challenges. We must therefore find a division of duties that will allow a thorough and serious follow-up of old issues while at the same time allowing the Board and management to focus on future matters. The appointment of Bjorn Bjornsson within the Board to monitor the follow-up lingering issues is an expression for this, at the same time that, naturally, this does not change the fact that it is the Board as a whole that bears the full responsibility for handling future- oriented as well as past matters."
Bjorn Bjornsson, Vice Chairman, comments:
"These are matters that require different efforts at different points in time. Some can be expected to be concluded relatively soon, while others will need to be followed up over a long period of time. I expect to continuously report back to the Board. I also intend on a regular basis - when there is something to report - to issue public reports of our work. Our aspiration is to live up to the ambition for openness, without for that matter contributing to the spread of rumours and speculation."
This work plan also has the support of Skandia's main owners. Bjorn Lind, from SEB Fonder, one of Skandia's Swedish institutional owner, says:
"We feel that this is a good solution that will allow Skandia to continue monitoring and conclusively dealing with the results of the investigative work in a serious manner while allowing the Board and management to concentrate on developing Skandia's business activities."
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