SEB Financial Officers' Index: Cautious optimis...

Consistent with recent improvements in economic indicators, Swedish
financial officers are becoming cautiously optimistic. For the first
time since November 2007, respondents have become more positive
towards the business climate. Still, the effects on companies of the
economic downturn are not over with nearly 50 percent of financial
officers believing their companies are only mid way through the
crisis.


SEB's Financial Officers' survey, addressed to around 70 of  Sweden's
largest companies, shows respondents becoming slightly more  positive
towards the current  situation. SEB's Financial  Officers' Index  for
September published today stands at 54, up from 51 in May.

The Financial Officers' survey suggests respondents are more  neutral
regarding the  current  business climate,  even  if only  a  minority
regards it as favorable.

"The focus on cost cutting remains high, but the pressure for
additional staff reductions has declined, both in Sweden and abroad.
This indicates that companies have been surprisingly quick to adjust
to significantly lower demand", says Ebba Lindahl, head of Credit
Research at SEB and co-author of the report with Disa Hammar.

At the same time, the crisis is not yet over for many companies.

"Nearly 50 percent of financial officers believe their company is
only mid way through the crisis. When asked how their respective
organizations had adapted their strategies to the present adverse
economic environment, approximately half state that they have
adjusted their cost structure and reviewed capital spending. Policies
regarding capital sourcing and liquidity requirements have also been
changed. The various responses to our survey show many companies
working on a wide range of measures designed to improve results and
balance sheets in order to mitigate falling demand", says Hammar.

Financial Officers believe their companies' financial position to be
stable.

"Almost 60 percent  of officers  consider the  financial position  of
their companies to be favorable or very favorable. At the same  time,
banks and lending  institutions are  believed to be  more willing  to
lend. More than 90  percent of respondents  also seem convinced  that
credit markets have  stabilized and expect  credit spreads either  to
remain unchanged or tighten", says Lindahl.

This is  the  fourteenth  publication of  SEB's  Financial  Officers'
Index, a unique quarterly survey whose purpose is to reflect  changes
of  sentiment  in  the  financial  environment  and  facilitate   the
understanding of economic and financial trends. The survey  comprises
a total  of 15  questions covering  areas such  as business  climate,
strategic investments, employment, views  on currencies and  interest
rates, financial strength,  and lending  attitudes amongst  financial
institutions.  The  full   report  (in  Swedish)   is  available   at
www.sebgroup.com\press.

____________________________________________________________________________

For further information, please contact:
Ebba Lindahl, Trading Strategy, SEB, tel. [phone]
Elisabeth Lennhede, Press Officer, tel. [phone]


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