Birgitte Bonnesen
Birgitte Bonnesen | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 18, 1956 Odder, Denmark |
| Nationality | Danish, Swedish |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Years active | 1987–2019 |
| Known for | CEO of Swedbank (2016–2019), Chair of the Swedish Bankers' Association (2017–2019) |
Birgitte Bonnesen (born 18 May 1956 in Odder, Denmark) is a former business leader with Danish and Swedish nationality. She held the position of CEO at Swedbank between 2016 and 2019 and was the chair of the Swedish Bankers' Association from 2017 until 2019.
Early life and education
Raised in Jutland, Denmark, Bonnesen is the daughter of Sven Bonnesen, a merchant, and Birte Bonnesen, an entrepreneur. She pursued higher education at Aarhus University from 1979 to 1985, where she completed a master's degree in economics, along with studies in English and French.
Career
After relocating to Sweden in 1987, Bonnesen began her career at Första Sparbanken, which later became Swedbank. She led the bank’s internal audit division from 2009 through 2011. Subsequently, from 2011 to 2014, she managed Swedbank’s operations across the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In 2015, she was appointed head of the bank’s Swedish branch before advancing to CEO from 2016 until her departure in 2019.
Departure in 2019 and legal aftermath
Towards the end of 2018, Bonnesen stated that Swedbank did not have Baltic clients merely using the bank for money transfers. This assertion was questioned following an investigative report by Uppdrag granskning in February 2019 concerning Swedbank's Baltic clientele. She resigned as CEO on 28 March 2019 and also relinquished her role as chairperson of the Swedish Bankers' Association.
Initially, Swedbank agreed to pay her a severance package amounting to around 21.5 million SEK (equivalent to an 18-month salary), but this agreement was withdrawn in March 2020.
On 4 January 2022, Bonnesen faced charges of gross fraud or market manipulation relating to her comments about the bank's anti-money laundering measures in the Baltic region during 2018–2019. This case represented the first indictment of a former CEO from one of Sweden's largest banks. The prosecution requested a two-year imprisonment; however, on 25 January 2023, she was found not guilty by the Stockholm District Court.
The ruling was contested on appeal, and on 10 September 2024, the Svea Court of Appeal convicted Bonnesen of gross fraud, sentencing her to one year and three months in prison while acquitting her on other allegations.