Swedbank to join state loan guarantee scheme

* Swedbank first Swedish bank to join guarantee scheme

* Says too early to announce cost of joining

* Nordea says may make announcement on scheme Tuesday

(Adds minister comment, Debt Office, share price)

By Niklas Pollard and Simon Johnson

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedbank (SWEDa.ST) became Sweden's first lender to announce it will participate in a government-sponsored debt guarantee plan on Tuesday.

The nearly $200 billion plan is part of a financial sector support package unveiled last month.

Shares in Sweden's fourth largest bank were up 8.9 percent at 1104 GMT against a rise of 3.7 percent in the Nordic banking index .TBNKF.

"Swedbank has today decided to apply to participate in the guarantee programme within the Swedish government's stability plan to ensure stability in the financial systems," the bank said in a statement.

"Such an application will therefore be sent shortly."

The bank has been under pressure in recent months due to fears it could see loan losses surge in the Baltic countries, where it and Swedish peer SEB (SEBa.ST) have expanded rapidly.

The worries have led to higher funding costs for Swedbank than peers.

It announced late last month that it would raise more than $1.5 billion in a new shares issue, saying the capital infusion would end uncertainty over its financial strength.

It was too early to say what the cost of joining the guarantee scheme might be, a Swedbank spokesman said.

However, the bank will pay more than leading rivals in the country, should they chose to join the scheme.

Swedbank has to pay a 0.33 percent charge on top of a base fee of 0.5 percent of the amount borrowed for all new debts under the scheme, the Debt Office said.