Our story

How we run our bank

Before anything else, we are a bank. We know that our first priority is to be a dependable financial partner to our customers and to support economic development – by providing finance, protecting savings, employing people and paying taxes. But we have a choice of how to run our bank.

Building on trust

We choose to trust colleagues throughout the Bank to take better decisions than any hierarchy could hope for. We cooperate openly and respect each other's diverse contributions towards a common goal and culture. By being a dependable and responsible bank, we aim to develop relationships with all stakeholders based on mutual trust. 

A sustainable business

We choose to take a long-term view, with the interests of our customers and communities in focus. Being decentralised means we can get involved without having to ask permission first. 

Our sustainable products help customers make choices in line with their principles. And at local, national and international level, we support initiatives aimed at improving the world for current and future generations.

Sustainability

Putting the customer first

We know we will only succeed in the long run by having highly satisfied customers. Our role is to support them financially, helping their families and businesses to thrive.

We do this by being close to our customers, by seeing them as individuals, and by focusing on their needs rather than our own. Having sales campaigns, product targets or bonus incentives wouldn't help us put our customers' needs first, so we don't have them. 

Over time, this approach leads to a high level of customer satisfaction, loyalty and recommendation. This is how we build our business.

The bottom line

Over several decades we have shown that there is no conflict between what is best for our customers, employees and shareholders. Through an unwavering focus on customer satisfaction and cost-efficiency, achieved by trusted colleagues making sustainable decisions, we have been more profitable than our banking peer-group since 1972.

One corporate goal

Our business strategy is made up of a single, group-wide corporate goal and two means to achieve it.  Our corporate goal is to be more profitable than the average of our competitors, year after year. That is what determines business success in the long run. 

Two means to reach the goal

Since banks are part of the service sector, achieving our corporate goal depends first on having more satisfied, loyal customers than our competitors. A satisfied customer will trust us with more of their financial affairs, as well as recommending us to their personal and business contacts. 

The second means to our corporate goal is to have consistently better control of our costs. We have a culture of avoiding costs that add no value to our customers or the bank, as well as costs resulting from poor long-term decisions.

And this in a nutshell is our business strategy, unchanged for nearly 50 years. Through a constant shared focus on these two means, we have achieved our corporate goal every year since 1972. 

Fundamental values

Two fundamental values shape the way we pursue our business strategy. Both values are timeless, enabling us to adapt naturally to changes in the world around us. 

A firm trust in people 

Trust is the basis of how we manage our whole business. We trust in people's natural desire and ability to do good things well. That is why colleagues throughout our bank enjoy everyday responsibility and the power to decide on questions closest to them. All within an open, supportive culture. It is also why we run a decentralised business. Our branches are responsible for their local customers, and the advice, decisions and service they receive. The branch also accounts for Handelsbanken's business development and good name in the local community.

We believe it is vital to build strong bonds of trust with our customers. The starting point is to run our business responsibly and manage our customers' financial affairs dependably. By showing care and professional competence, our branches build lasting customer relationships. Everything from our financial products to our digital services are designed to make more of these relationships. Wherever a customer is looking for the personal touch, we plan to be there.   

A long-term perspective

We only earn the trust of our customers by acting responsibly for the long term, both as a corporate citizen and a banking partner. 

Many decades of banking and business experience inform our long-term perspective. It guides us to run the bank sustainably, remaining financially solid while limiting our customers' and our own risk.  

Our all employee profit share foundation, Oktogonen, steers us in this same direction. And we steer clear of ideas which could conflict with this long-term, shared perspective, such as bonus incentives, budgets or financial forecasts. 

We see that our customers and shareholders typically share our long-term view, just like most people in the communities we serve.