Sampo CEO Björn Wahlroos warns of impending downswing in investment and securities markets

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Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, CEO Björn Wahlroos of the Sampo Group, the Nordic P&C and life insurer and investor, commented that "the peak in the stock and investment market" has been reached.
      "However, I don’t anticipate any major decline. We are just warning of the downswing in the investment market, as the returns of our company’s life insurance business are largely dependent on the market", Wahlroos noted, while presenting to the media the Sampo Group’s results for the first six months of the current year.
      With its total investment assets of about EUR 21 billion, Sampo is among the ten largest Nordic investors. Apparently asset managers within the insurance group have been trimming their stock portfolios in July to limit securities risks.
     
According to Wahlroos, the fact that lenders have tightened the cost of money to companies is a sign of an impending downswing in the stock market.
      "The atmosphere in the market has changed considerably over a short period. Changes have happened previously, too, but not in such a short interval", Wahlroos added.
     
Sampo Group’s profit before taxes from January to June 2007 rose to EUR 3,418 million, containing sales profit of EUR 2,830 million from the Sampo Bank transaction closed in the first quarter of the current year.
      In April-June the profit before taxes amounted to EUR 289 million, indicating an increase of 32% compared with the corresponding period in 2006.
      Sampo Group divested its banking operations in Finland, selling Sampo Bank to the Danes.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish Sampo Bank Group to be sold to Danish Danske Bank for EUR 4.05 billion (9.11.2006)

Links:
  Sampo Group results for Q2/2007 (press release, 8.8.2007)

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