Swedbank in shock rights issue
Swedbank surprised markets yesterday with news of a 15bn Swedish crown (£1.2bn) rights issue to boost a balance sheet hit by bad debts in the Baltics, despite saying a month ago its capital situation was “very resilient.” Sweden’s financial watchdog said in June that the country’s banks had enough capital to pass its “worst-case” stress test for 150bn crowns in Baltic loan losses.