Avanza Bank: Interim Report, January – June 2009

• Operating income decreased by 10 per cent (–3 %) to SEK 242 million (SEK 2688 m)
• The profit after tax increased by 6 per cent (–10 %) to SEK 105 million (SEK 99 m)
• Earnings per share increased by 4 per cent (–9 %) to SEK 3.81 per share (SEK 3.65)
• Net savings totalled SEK 4,500 million (SEK 4,210 m), corresponding to 13 per cent (9 %) of the savings capital at the beginning of the year
• The number of accounts increased by 11 per cent (+25 %) to 249,800 (226,000 as of 31st December 2008) and the total savings capital increased by 36 per cent (–5 %) to 47,100 (34,600 as of 31st December 2008)

Second quarter

• Operating income increased by 2 per cent (–6 %) to SEK 133 million (SEK 130 m)
• The profit after tax increased by 36 per cent (–17 %) to SEK 61 million (SEK 45 m)
• Earnings per share increased by 32 per cent (–16 %) to SEK 2.21 per share (SEK 1.67)

Comments from the Managing Director ”The profit increased by 36 per cent during the second quarter to SEK 2.21 per share. This corresponds to a total increase in profit before tax of SEK 14 million – a figure we achieved despite a deterioration of SEK 23 million in net interest items due to substantially lower key interest rates,” says Nicklas Storåkers, Managing Director of Avanza Bank.

”This success was due to an extremely strong stock market during the second quarter, to a cut of 15 per cent in costs, and to Avanza Bank’s healthy underlying growth. Not only did the number of accounts grow by 6 per cent during the second quarter and by 21 per cent during the past year, but net savings during the second quarter totalled SEK 2,500 million, making it the second best quarter ever and boosting the total savings capital to its current figure of SEK 47,100 million as of 30th June.”

”Avanza Bank continues to break new ground in the Swedish savings market. We launched a number of new services in the spring, including Mini, offering Sweden’s cheapest way of trading in shares on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, with brokerage fees starting at SEK 9 and never rising above SEK 59 per customer.”

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Managing Director of Avanza Bank
Nicklas Storåkers, +46 70 861 80 01
or
CFO of Avanza Bank,
Birgitta Hagenfeldt, +46 73 661 80 04