Sundstrom pressed – call the big owners of secret meeting – Swedish Dagbladet

Swedbank’s Chairman Anders Sundström. Photo from April 2015. Photo: Magnus Hjalmarsson Neideman

– We are the last to find out anything. 36 hours after the announcement that the board ousted CEO Michael Wolf, only then we get the chance to ask our questions, says a large and evidently unhappy shareholders to SvD Business.

The invitation to today’s shareholder meeting went out yesterday afternoon. The reason given is to give major Swedish shareholders a chance to meet Wolf’s successor. Birgitte Bonnesen was previously head of the Swedish banking operations, but now becomes acting president. She is not a long term solution confirms the view that the Board’s decision to kick Wolf was unplanned and abrupt.

– We got no information at all about what was going on. Then we read us how Anders Sundstrom managed Michael Wolf’s resignation yesterday. With hindsight, it should not become worse, says another owner.

First conference yesterday where Sundstrom would give the Board’s view of the President’s dismissal had to be postponed due of congestion. It turned out that many employees at the bank experienced a great lack of information about why their president kicked and therefore decided to register for the press conference that Sundstrom would lead. Swedbank had to go out with an internal e-mail to his employees calling on them not to call in to listen.

Once the delayed conference could be banned participants from the media to ask follow-up questions and the atmosphere was irritated. Speculation that there was more behind Wolf’s hasty exit, which was directed by the board, got off in earnest yesterday. Several media accused Sundstrom to tell lies.

‘meeting today is an attempt by Sundstrom to mitigate the criticism now directed against him and the management of the CEO question while big owners will get the chance to put questions to the acting CEO Birgitte Bonnesen.

Next attempted charm offensive is already planned. Swedbank’s shares fell yesterday by 6 percent and even foreign investors are asking awkward questions. The plan is to Sundstrom along with the bank’s investor relations department to meet foreign investors and analysts. First in London and then in New York, Chicago and Boston.

Birgitte Bonnesen will according to data to SvD not. Gregori Karamouzis, head of investor relations, would not confirm the reports but said that the only thing that is certain is that he will go with a colleague from the bank.