Handelsbanken Q3 net profit beats forecast (updated)

Nordea Bank Abp

22/10/2025 06:09

Corrects paragraph 1 to add reference to loan loss reversals

STOCKHOLM, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Swedish bank Handelsbanken SHBa.ST reported a smaller-than expected fall in third-quarter net profit on Wednesday on the back of loan loss reversals while interest income held up in the face of pressure from central bank rate cuts.

Net profit at the more than 150-year-old bank fell to 5.95 billion Swedish crowns from 7.21 billion a year ago, topping a mean forecast of 5.79 billion according to a LSEG compilation of analyst estimates.

        The bank said its costs, which have periodically been under investor scrutiny and the focus of management efforts to boost efficiency, fell 4% from a year earlier and were down 5% compared to the second quarter.

Handelsbanken is the first of the major Stockholm-based banks to publish its report on the third quarter. Last week, Nordea NDAFI.HE, which has a sizable business in Sweden but is headquartered in Finland, beat earnings expectations on the back of higher lending and deposit volumes.

 (Reporting by Niklas Pollard, editing by Louise Rasmussen)

 ((Niklas.Pollard@thomsonreuters.com;))