Swedish banking group Swedbank Friday posted a second-quarter operating loss of 1.8 billion kronor (230 million dollars) and announced plans to reduce its workforce to adjust to downturns in its main markets, according to dpa. A year ago, the group posted a second quarter operating profit of 4.5 billion kronor. The downturn in the Baltic countries and Ukraine has continued to affect Swedbank, which saw its second-quarter loan losses surge to 6.6 billion kronor compared to 423 million kronor year-on-year. The Baltic countries accounted for some 4 billion kronor of the loan losses and Ukraine for 2 billion kronor. The bank said it made provisions of 6.1 billion kronor for future loan losses. Swedbank Chief Executive Michael Wolf said "Estonia and Sweden performed better than expected, while Ukraine, Latvia and Lithuania continued to deteriorate." Wolf said the bank was to shed 3,600 jobs by the end of second-quarter 2010 over the "slowdown in the markets" where the bank operates. At the end of June the group had some 20,900 employees. The group has some 9 million private customers and 600,000 corporate customers at branches in Sweden, the Baltic countries and Ukraine. Total income in the quarter declined 2 per cent to 9.2 billion kronor. Last year, Swedbank was the first main banking group to join a voluntary guarantee programme set up by the Swedish government. The group also raised 1.51 billion dollars by issuing new shares.
