>>> Sampo unlikely to be seeking Nordic banking fusion but may further increase

Sampo unlikely to be seeking Nordic banking fusion but may further increase stake in Swedbank (translated)

Sampo, the Finnish insurance concern, is unlikely to be driving for a Nordic banking fusion but may still increase its stake in Sweden's Swedbank, according to Taloussanomat.

The Finnish-language paper cited a Swedish Dagens Industri report that Sampo had increased its stake in Swedbank by acquiring over 11m shares in the last month alone. Talks about a fusion between the two financial giants emerge from time to time, the piece noted.

However, Sampo has said Swedbank is purely a financial investment for the bank. The analyst house Inderes also sees the stake increase as a financial investment, Taloussanomat said. However, the piece cited Sauli Vilen, an analyst from Inderes, who said that Sampo may still increase its stake in Swedbank. The last rumours of a merger between Sampo and Swedbank circulated around 2010, the piece reported

Taloussanomat