SEB, the Swedish bank, said its wealth management arm grew its operating profit in the final quarter of 2014 and for the year. Assets under management also rose.

Operating profits in the wealth management segment of SEB, the Swedish bank, came in at SEK647 million ($78.6 million) in the fourth quarter of 2014, up 6 per cent from the previous three-month period. Profits for 2014 rose 40 per cent year-on-year to SEK2.258 billion.

Net fee and commission income at this segment was SEK1.197 billion in Q4 2014, a rise of 27 per cent from the previous quarter. Net interest income fell 10 per cent over the quarter to SEK146 million, perhaps unsurprisingly in an environment of low interest rates.

The wealth segment’s cost/income ratio was 0.53 per cent at the end of last year, a rise from 0.5 per cent at the end of September 2014, SEB said.

Total assets under management increased by 16 per cent from a year ago and amounted to a record high of SEK1.635 trillion. The assets under management increased as a result of higher net inflows and positive equity market developments, the bank said.

For the bank as a whole, full year operating profit was SEK23.3bn and return on equity was 15.3 per cent. Excluding one-time items amounting to SEK3 billion, the operating profit was SEK20.4 billion and the return on equity was 13.1 per cent.

“As the leading Nordic corporate bank, we saw that business sentiment among Nordic and German large corporate customers turned more positive in 2014, evidenced by high event-driven activities. We confirmed our number one position in Nordic [mergers and acquisitions] and arranged the largest number of transactions,” said Annika Falkengren, SEB’s president and chief executive, commenting on the fourth quarter results.

“All divisions increased income and showed continued growth in the customer base with good cost control. The result reflects our investments in a broader and deeper relationship with large corporates outside Sweden. Profit growth in the Nordic countries and Germany was firm,” she added.