Swedbank is making a dividend to the bank owners of SEK 17 billion after last year's profit as a result of the recent interest rate increases.
This can be compared with the dividend from the previous year of 11 billion.
SEB also increased its profitability last year, and the bank's owners can share in almost SEK 24 billion, if the annual general meeting approves it.
The year before, they had a dividend of 14.7 billion.
- In many ways, the customers and the share savers are the same people, they are Swedish households.
Millions of households own the bank through pensions and fund savings, says Masih Yazdi, CFO of SEB.
The dividend is "provocative"
The banks' profits are mainly due to the customers' savings interest being lower compared to the interest the banks charged on the customers' loans.
Elisabeth Svantesson calls the dividend "provocative" and believes that the banks would instead make it more favorable for their customers.
- I understand that it sticks in the eyes of a lot of people.
It does that to me too, she says.
SEB's Masih Yazdi, on the other hand, believes that there is no conflict between the banks' dividends and the household finances.
Had the banking sector performed poorly, it would have been even tougher for households with higher interest rates, according to Yazdi.
- We borrow money to lend.
The better we do, the cheaper it is for us to borrow the money and the cheaper we can lend to households.
Want to see more competition
Elisabeth Svantesson believes that there needs to be greater competition in the market.
According to her, it can be difficult for customers to change banks, something the government wants to review.
Among other things, they look at the interest difference compensation, which is the compensation the bank charges if a mortgage with a fixed interest rate is redeemed early.
- We are also reviewing the possibility of more digital tools, that is to say that you should be able to quickly see digitally what the loan looks like.