Handelsbanken to leave Denmark and Finland
Handelsbanken has today made the decision to cease its operations in Denmark and Finland. A process is being initiated to divest these two operations.
- Together, Denmark and Finland account for 10 per cent of the income, 13 per cent of the costs, and 8 per cent of the operating profit within the Group.
- The capital allocated to the operations in Denmark and Finland amounts to a total of approximately SEK 15 billion. The common equity tier 1 capital related to these operations amounts to approximately SEK 12 billion.
For decades, Handelsbanken has been one of the world’s most successful banks, with higher profitability, more satisfied customers and more stable finances than the sector as a whole. The key to this success lies in the Bank’s ability to constantly change in step with our customers’ expectations. Handelsbanken’s aspiration to constantly become a little bit better at meeting its customers’ demands has been a driving factor in its development since it first opened its doors 150 years ago.
The Bank’s main markets are in Sweden and Norway, as well as in the UK, where there is an independent subsidiary bank. Together, these markets account for 91 per cent of profits. In these markets, the Bank’s ambition has been to be a leading operator in our core areas: financing and asset management.
In recent years, the Swedish operations have been strengthened by a transformation, through which the Bank has become better able to meet its customers’ expectations, as regards digital services, online meetings and 24/7 service, and meaning that mortgage loans can be granted, and expert advice provided, across several channels. The Bank has a strong local presence and is, by a wide margin, the Bank with the most branches in the Swedish market. Over the past year, this has resulted in mortgage volumes increasing by 5%, the managed fund volume increasing by 27%, and income increasing by just over 5%. Handelsbanken is today the largest lender among corporate banks.
The Norwegian operations have exhibited very strong performance within the financing core business area over the past 15 years, particularly on the corporate side. As in Sweden, this development is founded on high levels of customer satisfaction and good cost efficiency.
In the UK, Handelsbanken has invested in the formation of an independent subsidiary bank, with a unique offering on a market with considerable potential – not least within Private Banking, where the Bank has been named Private Bank of the Year for several consecutive years. The Bank has also a strong position with further potential within corporate financing.
In Denmark and Finland, just as in the other markets, our banking operations are characterised by customers with stable cash flows, good credit quality and high customer satisfaction. Despite a lasting presence in these markets, the Bank’s market position remains small, and the Bank sees little opportunity to scale up its offering without significant investment.
Nowadays, the conditions for running a profitable banking business in various markets are hugely different from how they were when Handelsbanken originally expended its geographical presence. The synergies become less and less potent as new regulatory frameworks are introduced, both locally and internationally, entailing that the Bank now needs central staff functions and infrastructure in each market. Customers have a greater appreciation for speed in restructuring and adapting to local conditions than they do for global products.
“From a commercial perspective, we want to have a presence in those locations offering the best conditions for profitable growth and a strong market position. With this decision, we are strengthening the Bank’s ambitions in our primary markets: Sweden, Norway and the UK,” says Carina Åkerström, President and Group Chief Executive of Handelsbanken.
The Bank’s business in the Netherlands has demonstrated good profitability in recent years, with a more focused offering within real estate finance and asset management. As of 1 January 2022, the Netherlands will be a part of Capital Markets, together with Luxembourg and New York. In addition to the Bank’s offering to its customers in the Netherlands and Luxembourg, presence in the eurozone is also strategically important to the Bank in terms of funding. Operations in New York will continue to be run in the same way as previously. The Bank’s presence in the USA is also of strategic consequence, as this allows for direct access to USD funding.
For additional financial information, please refer to the interim report.
The relevant unions have been informed in all markets concerned.
Press conference for media and analysts, 20 October
Group Chief Executive Carina Åkerström presents the Bank’s interim report at a press conference for the media and research analysts tomorrow, Wednesday 20 October, at 08:30 CET. To register your participation, please email: press@handelsbanken.se by 08:00 CET on Wednesday 20 October at the latest. Journalists are welcome to register an interest for one-on-one interviews by emailing press@handelsbanken.se.
The presentation will be held in Swedish, with simultaneous interpretation into English, and will be shown on handelsbanken.com/ir.
Location: Handelsbanken’s head office, Kungsträdgårdsgatan 2, Stockholm. Styrelsesalen, 3rd floor.
Register at the guard on the right-hand side of the bank hall upon arrival.
For further information, please contact:
Carina Åkerström, Group Chief Executive, +46 8 22 92 20
Carl Cederschiöld, CFO, +46 8 22 92 20
Lars Höglund, Head of Investor Relations & Financial Strategy, +46 70 345 51 70
Viktoria Aastrup, Head of Group Media Relations, +46 73 043 51 59
This information is of the type that Svenska Handelsbanken AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 18:35 CET on October 19th 2021.
For more information about Handelsbanken, see: www.handelsbanken.com