Date of Release: 2008-09-30

Nordea Bank AB

DBRS Comments on Nordea’s Acquisition of Roskilde Assets; AA Rating Unaffected

DBRS has today commented that its ratings for Nordea Bank AB and related entities are unaffected following Nordea’s announced acquisition of certain assets of the former Roskilde Bank A/S (Roskilde) from the Danish central bank. DBRS maintains a Senior Unsecured Debt & Deposits rating of AA and a Short-Term Debt & Deposits rating of R-1 (high) for Nordea Bank AB and its main operating banks, which together form Nordea Group (Nordea or the Group). The trend on all ratings remains Stable.

With the acquisition, Nordea adds to its Pan-Nordic franchise by gaining nine branches, approximately 50,000 customer relationships, as well as deposits and loans in Denmark. DBRS sees potential for Nordea in offering its broad range of financial products to the acquired customers. Nordea acquired the assets from the Danish central bank, which took over all assets of Roskilde in late August after Roskilde failed to meet solvency requirements.

In the view of DBRS, the announced acquisition has a negligible impact on Nordea’s financial profile, as it adds loans of about Danish Krone 5.2 billion (approximately EUR 740 million), which comprises approximately 0.3% of the Group’s total loans and receivables to the public as of June 2008 and 1.2% of Nordea’s total lending in Denmark. Moreover, Nordea has the right under certain conditions to put back loans to the seller during a six-week period, if those loans fail to meet Nordea’s due diligence requirements, adding a layer of protection for Nordea.

Nordea Group reported total assets of EUR 431 billion as of June 2008.

Note:
All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.