SEB welcomes initiatives to support Latvia's financial system

SEB welcomes the initiatives discussed by the Latvian Government and
the National Bank of Latvia together with the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund to support the Latvian financial system
and to ensure confidence in the Latvian economy.

Annika Falkengren, President and CEO of the SEB Group says:"Our ties to Latvia are close and strong. In SEB, we consider the
Northern European region as our home market and as such, we have been
present in and have had a strong commitment to Latvia for ten years.

SEB has always ensured that our local subsidiary bank, SEB banka,
Latvia, has had the financial resources to play a constructive role
in the development of the Latvian economy through the provision of
credit to companies and households. Today, the SEB Group continues to
see long-term growth opportunities in Latvia and views Latvia as a
core market of the Group and will, through SEB banka, Latvia,
continue to meet the credit needs of its clients in Lats and, where
appropriate, in Euro."





SEB is a North European financial group serving some 400,000
corporate customers and institutions and five million private
individuals. SEB offers universal banking services in Sweden, Germany
and the Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It also has
local presence in the other Nordic countries, Poland, Ukraine and
Russia and a global presence through its international network in
another ten countries. On 30 September 2008, the Group's total assets
amounted to SEK 2,416bn (~EUR 237bn) while its assets under
management totalled SEK 1,244bn (~EUR 122bn).The Group has about
22,000 employees. Read more about SEB at www.sebgroup.com.
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For further information, please contact:
Ulf Grunnesjö, Head of Investor Relations, +46  8 763 8501, + 46 70
763 8501
Odd Eiken, Head of Group Communications, +46 8 763 87 30, +46 70 763
8730