SEB's operating result for the first quarter amounted to SEK 2,463m, an

increase of 37 percent compared with the first quarter of 2003 and also

an improvement on the previous quarter.

Net  profit  (after  tax) increased by 40 per cent to SEK 1,768m. Total

income  rose  by  11  per  cent due to increased capital market-related

income.   Total  costs  were  negatively  affected  by  new  accounting

principles  and  increased  by 3 per cent. On a comparable basis, costs

were  in  line with the first quarter of 2003 and 2 per cent lower than

the previous quarter. Net credit losses remained stable at a low level.

Return  on equity amounted to 14.0 per cent (10.9) and to 20.1 per cent

(17.1)  excluding goodwill. Earnings per share increased by 41 per cent

to  SEK  2.56  (1.81). The result from SEB Trygg Liv's ongoing business

amounted  to  SEK  417m  (252)  including  change  in  surplus  values.

President's  comments  The year has started positively for SEB. Results

were better than last year's corresponding period within all divisions.

Volumes, market shares and income continued to increase in many areas.

A strong stock market trend has of course favoured many of our business

areas,  while  others  have  gained  from decreasing interest rates and

higher  volatility.  Corporate  &  Institutions  continues to yield the

highest  result, accounting for half of the Group's profit. It is still

a strong trend within Trading & Capital Markets but also encouraging to

see  that  Enskilda  Securities  has picked up. SEB is the leading bank

within  equity-related  business  and  has  benefited from the improved

markets.  In  Nordic  Retail  &  Private  Banking  market  shares  keep

increasing in the mortgage area; private banking is picking up with the

stock  market  and  the card operation is steadily growing. In Germany,

our  business  shows improved profitability, even though the profit was

affected  by  the ongoing improvement programme in the Retail division,

reducing  staff  by  more than 400 positions. In our Baltic operations,

which  have  been  a  growth  area  for  several years, profits keep on

rising,  even if the first quarter generally is weaker than the fourth.

SEB  Asset  Management's  efficiency  programme  has  been  successful,

rebuilding  profits and increasing net inflow. Last but not least it is

indeed promising that SEB Trygg Liv continued to increase its sales and

result  and that the underlying value now clearly starts to show in the

profit  and  loss accounts. Our overall profit has now reached a higher

level  and  our  costs  are  stable  in  spite  of increased income. We

continue  relentlessly  with  our  3  C  programme  to  further improve

customer  satisfaction, cost efficiency and cross-servicing all through

the  different  parts  of  our  Group.  We  are well positioned for the

future. Improved result SEB's operating result for the first quarter of

2004 increased by 37 per cent, to SEK 2,463m (1,792). Compared with the

previous  quarter  the increase was 12 per cent. Net profit (after tax)

improved  by  40 per cent, to SEK 1,768m (1,260). The increase from the

last  quarter  of 2003 was 6 per cent. Total income rose by 11 per cent

to  SEK 7,303m (6,579). The increase compared with the previous quarter

was  3 per cent. The improvement was an effect of higher net commission

income and increased net result of financial transactions. Net interest

income  improved by 2 per cent, to SEK 3,442m (3,377) compared with the

corresponding period of 2003, while it decreased by 2 per cent compared

with  the  previous  quarter.  The  outcome  was  a  combined effect of

increased  volumes,  particularly of mortgage and corporate lending and

deposits,  and  the current generally low level of interest rates. On 1

April  the Swedish central bank lowered its interest rate by another 50

basis  points,  to  2.0 per cent. Net commission income amounted to SEK

2,852m   (2,440),  an  increase  of  17  per  cent  compared  with  the

corresponding  quarter  of  2003.  The  improvement  was  an  effect of

increased  equity  market-related  revenues.  Equity  brokerage  income

increased  by  more  than  50  per  cent  and  fund  management fees by

approximately  30  per  cent,  compared with the first quarter of 2003.

SEB's  investment  bank Enskilda Securities participated in five IPO's,

including  the  first  one  in  Sweden  since  June 2002. Net financial

transactions  amounted to SEK 830m, which was significantly higher than

in  both  previous  quarter  and the corresponding quarter of 2003. The

strong  increase was an effect of lower interest rates, high volatility

and good performance within foreign exchange.

Other  income, SEK 179m, decreased both compared with the first and the

last quarter of last year. Costs affected by new rules Total costs, SEK

4,695m  (4,551),  were  negatively  affected  by  SEK  55m  due  to new

accounting  principles  and  restructuring costs of SEK 75m in Germany.

Excluding these items, costs were in line with the corresponding period

last  year  and  2  per  cent lower than in the previous quarter. Staff

costs  rose by 3 per cent to SEK 2,741m (2,665). The increase is mainly

explained by the above mentioned SEK 55m in higher pension costs. Staff

costs  were  also  negatively  affected  by  higher performance-related

remuneration. The average number of full time equivalents in March 2004

was   17,623,   a   decrease  of  706  compared  with  March  2003  and

approximately  2,370  fewer  than in June 2001, which was the basis for

SEB's   cost  reduction  programme.  Other  operating  costs  increased

somewhat,  to  SEK 1,540m (1,519) due to investments in new systems for

Basel  II etc. Compared with the previous quarter other costs decreased

by  7  per  cent.  External  IT-costs amounted to SEK 448m (374). Total

IT-costs  (defined  as  a calculated cost for all IT-related activities

including  costs  for  own personnel) were SEK 0.8bn (0.8). In spite of

significant  improvements during the past years and even though SEB has

performed  better than its German competitors, the result of the German

Retail & Mortgage Banking division is still unsatisfactory. In December

2003,  the  division therefore launched a profit improvement programme,

which  includes  a  staff reduction of 400 employees. So far 300 out of

the  400  have  been  contracted  to  leave. The programme will lead to

restructuring  costs of about SEK 300m mainly during 2004, of which SEK

75m  in  the first quarter. Full profit impact will be reached in 2005.

The  Group's net credit losses including changes in the value of assets

taken  over amounted to SEK 212m, in line with the corresponding period

last  year  (214)  and  a  decrease  of  36  per cent from the previous

quarter.  The credit loss level was 0.12 per cent (0.12). Asset quality

remained  stable. SEB Trygg Liv's operating result increased to SEK 78m

(8).  This  was the division's best result so far and has been included

in  the  Group's  result.  SEB Trygg Liv's result from ongoing business

(including  change in surplus values but excluding financial effects of

market  fluctuations)  was  SEK  417m  (252). Results including surplus

value  changes  are  not  consolidated  with  the SEB Group's result. A

complete  description  of SEB Trygg Liv's operations, including changes

in   surplus   values,  is  reported  in  "Additional  information"  on

<a href='http://www.sebgroup.com.' target='_blank'>http://www.sebgroup.com.</a>  The  result  of  the  SEB  Group's  total  insurance

opera-tions,  -  non-life  (run-off  only)  and life including goodwill

amortisation  of  SEK  37m  (37)  - amounted to SEK 68m (-18). As of 31

March  2004, assets under management amounted to SEK 875bn, an increase

of  6  per cent compared to year-end 2003 and 19 per cent higher than a

year  earlier.  Net  inflow  during the first three months was SEK 12bn

(11)  while the change in value was SEK 41bn (-18). The dominating part

of the net inflow emanated from Sweden and the other Nordic countries.

The  balance  sheet  increased by SEK 184bn during the first quarter of

2004  to  SEK  1,463bn.  The  strong  growth  was  due to high customer

activities  within  securities  lending  and  repo market as well as to

increased  trading volumes in general. Lending to the public as well as

deposits  and  borrowing  from the public continued to increase in line

with  earlier  quarters.  Due  to  new  accounting  rules  for  pension

liabilities,  assets and commitments in the Group's pension obligations

have  been consolidated in the balance sheet. As of 31 March 2004, book

equity  due  to  the consolidation has increased by SEK 1.4bn, which is

included in core capital. Market risk The increased business activities

were  not  matched  by  an  increase in market risk levels. The Group's

risk-taking in trading operations (measured by so called Value at Risk,

VaR) averaged SEK 76m in the first quarter of 2004. This means that the

Group,  with a 99 per cent probability, cannot be expected to lose more

than  a  maximum  of  SEK 76m during a ten-day period. VaR was slightly

higher compared to year-end 2003 due to higher market volatility.

During  the  first  quarter  there  was an overall growth in the credit

portfolio.  Total credit exposure, including contingent liabilities and

derivatives  contracts, amounted to SEK 1,116bn (1,040), of which loans

and  leasing excluding repos amounted to SEK 817bn (776). Volume growth

continued  within Swedish household mortgage lending, the German public

sector  and the Baltic subsidiary banks. Lending volumes also increased

within  the  property  management  and  Nordic  corporate  sectors.  In

addition,   fluctuating  banking  sector  volumes  contributed  to  the

increase.   The  geographical  distribution  of  the  credit  portfolio

remained  stable,  with  credit  volumes  concentrated  in  SEB's  home

markets:  the  Nordic area (45 per cent), Germany (34 per cent) and the

Baltic  countries  (4  per  cent).  On 31 March, doubtful loans, gross,

amounted  to  SEK 9,887m (10,877 at year-end 2003), of which SEK 8,693m

(8,632)   were   non-performing   loans   (loans   where  interest  and

amortisation are not paid) and SEK 1,194m (2,245) performing loans. The

reserve  ratio  was  72  per cent (66). The increase was an effect of a

lower  level of doubtful loans. The volume of assets taken over was SEK

119m  (117).  As  of  31  March 2004, the capital base of the financial

group  of undertakings (i.e. excluding insurance companies) amounted to

SEK  60.0bn (54.7 at year-end 2003) including the first quarter result.

Core   capital  was  SEK  47.4bn  (42,6),  of  which  SEK  5.6bn  (1.8)

constituted  so-called  core capital contribution. The increase in core

capital contribution was due to the Bank's successful issue of USD 500m

in  the  U.S.  market.  The  issue was made for refinancing purposes to

create  a  more  favourable and matched capital structure of the Group.

Total  risk-weighted  assets amounted to SEK 558bn (535).. The increase

of SEK 23bn was mainly due to increased business volumes in lending and

trading.  As  of 31 March 2004, the core capital ratio was 8.5 per cent

(8.0) and the total capital ratio 10.8 per cent (10.2).

Following a regulatory change as from 2004, deferred tax assets and all

intangible  assets (not only goodwill as before) shall be excluded from

the  capital  base.  In  consequence,  the  capital  ratios  have  been

calculated excluding SEB's holding of SEK 1.8bn in such assets.

In  February 2004, Moody's upgraded its long-term rating for SEB to Aa3

from A1.

Events since the end of the quarter

In  accordance  with  a  resolution  by the Annual General Meeting on 1

April  2004,  SEB  has  repurchased  6,200,000  series  A shares on the

Stockholm  Stock  Exchange in order to hedge against potential costs of

the  employee  stock option programme for 2004. The repurchase was done

at  a  price of SEK 108.50 per share. After this, the Bank's holding of

Series  A  shares amounts to 19,400,000. The value of these shares will

be  deducted  from  equity.  The  AGM  also  decided on a mandate for a

general  repurchase  of  maximum 20 million own shares to facilitate an

effective management of the Group's capital position.

In  May  2004,  SEB  sold  the  majority of its shares in Amagerbanken,

Denmark.  The sale implies a capital gain of approximately SEK 170m.The

remaining  amount hold by SEB is now less than 5 per cent of the shares

in Amagerbanken.

Lars H Thunell

President and Group Chief Executive

The report has not been reviewed by the Bank's Auditors.