About the Group and how we run the Bank

Handelsbanken was founded in 1871 and is one of the world's strongest banks. Our home markets are Sweden, Norway, the UK and the Netherlands, with business also conducted in Luxembourg and the United States.

  • Our idea of how to run our Bank is based on trust and respect for individuals.
  • We have a decentralised way of working and a strong local presence.
  • We create long-term customer relationships that last through all stages.
Four Handelsbanken colleagues are having a meeting. They are all smiling.

Keeping things in orderOrganisation and governance

The Handelsbanken way

Our goal

Handelsbanken's goal is to have higher profitability than the average of peer competitors in its home markets. This goal is mainly to be achieved by the Bank having more satisfied customers and lower costs than its competitors.

A man and two women are having a conversation at a branch office.

Our way of working

Our idea of how to run our Bank is based on trust and respect for individuals. With our decentralised way of working and strong local presence, we create value in every customer meeting and long-term customer relationships that last through all stages of life and business.

A woman is leaning against the outside wall of her house. Her daughter is standing next to her on the deck.

The results

Handelsbanken has had more satisfied customers than the industry average since surveys started in 1989. Since many years, we are one of the most cost-efficient banks in Europe, and since early 1990s we have lower credit losses than our competitors.

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The strength of being local

Handelsbanken is a decentralised bank, structured to make decisions locally, close to the customer.

Our 407 branches and meeting places can be found where customers live and work. This makes us more engaged, creates less hassle and allows us to make faster, better decisions. The branch offices have broad mandates to act and specialist skills at their disposal, which gives customers access to the full range of the Bank’s expertise. 

The combination of personal advice, local decision-making and outstanding digital services provides a superior overall offering for the customer. And it's a competitive edge for the Bank.

Locations
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Strong bank with satisfied customersA long-term approach

  • How we became who we are

    Handelsbanken was founded in 1871. Its share has been traded on the Stockholm stock exchange ever since, the longest of all shares currently listed. Today, a little over 150 years later, we are one of the world's strongest banks. Do you wish to know how we became the bank we are today?
    Our history

  • One of the world's safest banks

    Financial strength and consistent stability make us a bank to rely on. Independent company Global Finance ranks Handelsbanken as the safest commercial bank in Europe and the fifth safest in the world. No other privately-owned bank in the world has a higher overall credit rating than us.
    Our rating

  • We have satisfied customers

    Our customers like our local and personal approach. The truth is, that we have more satisfied customers among peer competitors in all of our home markets. Here's a selection of awards and recognitions received by the Handelsbanken Group.
    Our awards

Community engagement for knowledge and sustainability

We pursue a long-held tradition of commitment to the communities that we are part of. 

We have decided to focus on creating and sharing knowledge about what we do best – finances. This is how we help give our customers a good foundation for making well-informed decisions, and contribute to strong and stable communities. 

Sustainability is an integral part of our long-term approach to banking – always centred on the customer’s best.

Our role in society
A woman is sitting in an deck chair on a balcony. She is hugging her daughter. They are both laughing.