Swedbank sacks CEO as money laundering claims rattle investors
Birgitte Bonnesen was dismissed an hour before the bank’s AGM, with the CFO now doubling up as the CEO too
Stockholm — Swedbank sacked CEO Birgitte Bonnesen only an hour before its annual meeting on Thursday after disgruntled shareholders criticised her handling of a rapidly-growing money laundering scandal. Sweden's biggest bank has been trying to calm investor concerns since allegations were first reported by Swedish TV in February, but a raid on Swedbank's headquarters on Wednesday by Sweden's economic crime authority proved the final straw for the board of the country's oldest savings bank. Investors criticised Bonnesen for her communication and the way she handled the allegations of money laundering involving Swedbank accounts in the Baltics, which have sparked investigations by regulators and wiped a fifth off its market value as it battles a growing crisis. “Bonnesen's dismissal was what we wanted and was the only solution that is viable,” Ossian Ekdahl, chief active ownership officer at The First Swedish National Pension Fund said. He was among Swedbank investors who, in a rare p...
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