Stockholm - Main Swedish banking groups Nordea, Swedbank and SEB on Thursday reported third-quarter results suggesting they had weathered the first phases of the financial turmoil.

Shares for all three groups were mid-morning in positive territory on the Stockholm bourse where the OMXS index was flat. The fourth major group Handelsbanken, which reported Wednesday, was also up.

Banking group Swedbank said its third-quarter operating profit was 3.1 billion kronor (395 million dollars), down 15 per cent year-on-year, while total income in the quarter was 8.2 billion kronor or 13 per cent lower than in second-quarter 2008.

Analysts had feared Swedbank - which has 9 million private customers and 600,000 corporate customers and operates branches in Sweden, the Baltic countries and Ukraine - would post weaker results due to the economic slowdown in the Baltic region.

Swedbank's loan losses were 812 million kronor, compared to 423 million kronor in second-quarter 2008. Provisions included 169 million kronor to the collapsed US bank Lehman Brothers.

Chief executive Jan Liden said Swedbank was still considering if it would join a voluntary guarantee programme that the government has said would total 1,500 billion kronor and initially scheduled to run until April 2009.

Rival SEB saw its operating profit fall 46 per cent year-on-year to 2 billion kronor, while operating income of 8.7 billion kronor was 16 per cent lower than in second-quarter 
2008.

Chief executive Annika Falkengren said the group planned to cut 500 jobs in Sweden, about 5 per cent of its workforce.

SEB posted loan losses of 725 million kronor, compared to 452 million kronor in second-quarter 2008 mainly over provisions in the Baltic countries and effects from the default of Lehman Brothers.

The group has some 5 million private customers and 400,000 corporate customers.

Nordea posted an operating profit of 843 million euros (1 billion dollars) for the quarter, a 9 per cent drop on third-quarter 2007 but better than analysts had predicted.

The group's operating income increased 4 per cent to 1.99 billion euros, while its loan losses were 89 million euros. A year ago, the bank had a positive recovery of 13 million euros.

Nordea was created in 2000 but traces it roots to 1997 when Merita Bank of Finland and Nordbanken of Sweden formed MeritaNordbanken. It has some 10 million customers and 1,400 branch offices. (dpa)