Handelsbanken receives banking licence for new UK subsidiary
Handelsbanken, the local relationship bank with over 200 branches nationwide, has today received banking authorisation for its new UK subsidiary, Handelsbanken plc.The banking authorisation provided by the UK’s financial regulators, is an important next step for Handelsbanken in the UK. It enables the Bank to enter the final phase of establishing Handelsbanken plc, which it sees as a natural next step in its UK development. Since its UK launch in 1982, the Bank has experienced a growing demand for its relationship banking model in local communities throughout the country. By creating a UK subsidiary, Handelsbanken will be well positioned to take advantage of future UK growth.
Mikael Sorensen, UK CEO says: “We are delighted to receive authorisation from the regulators for Handelsbanken plc. It is an important milestone in the creation of our UK subsidiary. We are very proud of Handelsbanken’s UK success story to date: we have had the most satisfied British bank personal and business customers for the past decade*, and we were recently ranked top by SMEs in four out of five service quality metrics – including for overall service quality – in an independent survey conducted for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)**.
“To achieve the highest customer satisfaction scores, and to be ranked top by our SME customers, is testament to the first class service that forms the bedrock of Handelsbanken’s business model, where local branch teams with many years of experience are empowered to take swift and sensible decisions for their customers.
“We are now building a bank for the future. By establishing Handelsbanken plc we are strengthening our foundations for future growth, and are showing our commitment to bringing local relationship banking to more people in communities across the UK.”The creation of Handelsbanken plc will involve a court process to transfer business from the existing UK branch into the new, wholly-owned subsidiary of Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ).Once the subsidiary is effective, customers’ banking relationships will be with the new legal entity, Handelsbanken plc. However, there will be no change to the service currently experienced, or the way customer relationships are managed by local branch teams.