Swedish bank Handelsbanken has reported a first quarter operating profit of SKR5 billion, an increase of around 51% on last year.
Profits were boosted by higher net fee and commission income, while income as a whole increased by 36% SKR8.1 billion with net interest income representing over half of this.
The bank did note that in Sweden the margin on first time priced mortgage loans continued to fall. However, net commission income rose 45% to SKR3.3 billion, fuelled by a rise in equity market-related and insurance commissions.
Expenses rose by almost 22% to SKR3,252 million, with around SKR214 million of this arising from the consolidation of the bank’s SPP division. On top of this the company saw employee costs rise due to new branch openings, and losses due to exchange rate differences.