(Adds detail on net profit and background in paragraphs 2-4) STOCKHOLM, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Swedish bank Handelsbanken reported a smaller-than expected fall in third-quarter net profit on Wednesday as interest income narrowly beat forecast in the face of pressure from central bank rate cuts. Net profit at the more than 150-year-old bank fell to 5.95 billion Swedish crowns from 7.21 billion a year ago, topping a mean forecast of 5.79 billion according to a LSEG compilation of analyst estimates. The bank said its costs, which have periodically been under investor scrutiny and the focus of management efforts to boost efficiency, fell 4% from a year earlier and were down 5% compared to the second quarter. Handelsbanken is the first of the major Stockholm-based banks to publish its report on the third quarter. Last week, Nordea, which has a sizable business in Sweden but is headquartered in Finland, beat earnings expectations on the back of higher lending and deposit volumes. (Reporting by Niklas Pollard, editing by Louise Rasmussen)
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