Stockholm - Shares for main Swedish banking groups Nordea, Swedbank and SEB on Thursday declined after they reported third-quarter 2008 results.

While the reports suggested they had weathered the first phases of the financial turmoil, the banks' outlooks were more cautious.

Shares for the three groups initially opened in positive territory but fell off. Swedbank was down 8 per cent and SEB off some 5 per cent early afternoon on the Stockholm bourse.

The fourth major group Handelsbanken, which reported Wednesday, bucked the trend and remained 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.

Swedbank chief executive Jan Liden later said the bank's owners were discussing a capital injection.

In recent weeks, Swedbank has been in the sights of analysts over its presence in the Baltic region where economic growth has slowed.

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.

The group has 9 million private customers and 600,000 corporate customers and branches in Sweden, the Baltic countries and Ukraine.

Liden said Swedbank was still considering if it would join a voluntary guarantee programme that the Swedish 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)