Companies@UA: База компаний Украины

Kyiv, July 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Sweden Swedbank, which controls Ukrainian-based Swedbank (formerly TAS-Kommerzbank) and Swedbank Invest (formerly TAS-Investbank), posted a SEK 3.9 billion (about $500 million) loss because of the depreciation of loans in Ukraine.

As the bank said in a report in Friday, together with losses from a fall in the value of intangible assets in Ukraine by SEK 1.3 billion, this was the major component of the overall losses of the bank's international business, which amounted to SEK 4.4 billion in the first half of 2009.

Swedbank also reported that January through June, the amount of loans issued to companies fell from SEK 11.6 billion to SEK 8.4 billion, and those extended to households from SEK 7.1 billion to SEK 5 billion.

The bank says that over the period under review, there was a net inflow of deposits, however, because of the scheduled withdrawal by a large corporation of a UAH 800 million deposit with a fixed period, their amount in the national currency shrank by 7% year-over-year.

The share of bad loans by June 30, 2009, was 24%, compared to 8.9% registered by the end of the first quarter, and the level of their coverage remained at 101% as of the first quarter, whereas early this year it was 58%.

Swedbank said an ad hoc financial restructuring team of 40 experts has already analyzed 80% of the corporate loan portfolio, and is working with debtors, which is expected to take a long while because of the specific aspects of Ukrainian law.

The bank also managed to cut expenditures by 9.3% and has laid off 6% of its employees, moreover, by the end of 2010, it is to cut its workforce by 30% more.

Swedbank confirms that it will continue a merger of its two Ukrainian-based banks, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.

Swedbank's total losses in the first half of 2009 amounted to SEK 5.37 billion, compared to a profit of SEK 6.5 billion registered in the same period last year. As the bank said in the report, apart from Ukraine, the worst negative trends were seen in Latvia.