OREANDA-NEWS. February 18, 2008. Swedbank is donating SEK 1 million to the Swedish Save the Children Fund to launch "Zero Tolerance", an anti-bullying project in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, reported the press-centre of Swedbank.

"Making a donation to an important project working with children and young people in Swedbank’s domestic markets is, we believe, very much in the true spirit of Christmas. The donation is also absolutely in line with the bank’s core values and social responsibility objectives in the markets in which we operate," says Jan Liden, President and CEO of Swedbank.

For the past three years now, Swedbank has also been the principal sponsor of the Friends Foundation, which is working to reduce bullying and other abusive treatment of children and young people in Sweden.

"I’m delighted that Swedbank is now expanding the support it provides for anti-bullying work to the other side of the Baltic. The donation will enable us to work towards making Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian schools bullying-free zones, thereby creating a better environment for children and for learning," says Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Secretary General of the Swedish Save the Children Fund.

The "Zero Tolerance" project will be run by partner organisations of Save the Children in each of the Baltic States, with the launch date scheduled for February 2008. This is the tenth year in succession that Swedbank has chosen to donate money to good causes, rather than sending Christmas cards.