Handelsbanken is a relationship bank offering personal banking, corporate banking (including asset finance), and wealth management services. The bank is centred around local decision making, long-term thinking, high client satisfaction, and trust. Our focus is on people, truly understanding your business and creating a lasting relationship as your banking partner.
Our parent company, Svenska Handelsbanken was established in Sweden in 1871 and was the first bank to be listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. It remains one of the country’s leading banks with a nationwide branch network. We entered the UK market in 1982.
We operate a unique, fully-decentralised business model, with 121 branches across the UK – each focusing on their specific area or ‘patch’. This enables us to create teams of local experts who really understand the people and businesses in their immediate community. We believe that the best people to make banking decisions are those closest to our customers, so nearly all decision-making happens within the branch: our colleagues are empowered to do so independently and swiftly. Because we prioritise relationships and communication, we ensure our customers can access their personal relationship manager or local team how and where they want, whether that is face-to-face, or via phone and email.
One area which sets us apart is that our colleagues are not incentivised through sales targets or bonuses, which can drive behaviour not always in the customer’s best interests. Instead we have a long-term rewards scheme that aligns with the continuing success of the bank – which is the same for every employee irrespective of role or seniority. We believe that by doing what is best for the customer, even if it isn’t the most profitable for the bank at the time, both will ultimately thrive. This approach has seen us be consistently voted top for customer satisfaction as well as achieving our corporate goal every year for the last half-century.
Why is Handelsbanken Sponsoring EFG?
“Handelsbanken sponsors EFG to demonstrate our support for and interest in farmers and the rural economy. EFG aligns with our people-first approach and enables us to connect with innovative, forward-thinking farmers that are looking to diversify their income streams and increase their business’s resilience. We are here to provide an alternative banking solution to a sector that values the human-touch and which connects strongly with our sustainability ambitions.”
How can we support?
Regardless of sector, we look to work with businesses that share our long-term ethos, and whilst we aren’t a dedicated agricultural bank, we support farmers and other agricultural businesses right across the UK. Sustainability forms an important part of our long-term view and is a key part of Handelsbanken’s overall strategy – as a result we have been monitoring the development of natural capital markets closely. Our sustainable lending proposition, which rewards sustainable activities with interest rate discounts, now includes habitat restoration for BNG units, peatland restoration under the Peatland Code and sustainable forest management. Our aim is to make these activities more accessible and realistic for farmers and landowners by providing the finance needed to get projects off the ground. More broadly, we are active in other areas of sustainable finance – supporting the purchase of energy efficient property, retrofitting property with energy efficient measures, implementation of measures to reduce flood risk, supporting the purchase or development of renewable energy assets and the installation of EV infrastructure. More details can be found at (Sustainable loans | Handelsbanken).
Our team in Salisbury are closest to EFG, however, we have a number of offices across the territory covered by EFG (Find branch | Handelsbanken). Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Salisbury Branch Manager, Ian Townsend, for an initial conversation about our banking services.
ian.townsend@handelsbanken.co.uk
Handelsbanken is the trading name of Handelsbanken plc, which is incorporated in England and Wales with company number 11305395. Registered office: 25 Basinghall Street, London EC2V 5HA, UK. Handelsbanken plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Financial Services Register number 806852. Handelsbanken plc is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ)