STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish banking group Swedbank reported a first-quarter net profit above expectations on Thursday and said the economy had proved surprisingly resilient in the quarter.

The Nordic country's biggest mortgage lender said net profit rose to 8.43 billion crowns ($776 mln) from a year-ago 7.56 billion against a mean forecast of 8.22 billion in an LSEG poll of analysts.

Swedish banks have seen income boosted by higher interest rates but have also faced headwinds from a slumping economy and a real estate crisis that has had investors doubting their balance sheets.

The rival to Handelsbanken, Nordea and SEB said its interest income - which includes revenue from mortgages - rose to 12.6 billion crowns from 11.9 billion, below a 12.9 billion seen by analysts.

($1 = 10.8681 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Johan Ahlander, editing by Anna Ringstrom and Essi Lehto)