Handelsbanken gets up to 180 British branches
SWEDISH lender Handelsbanken grew its loan book to £13.3bn in the third quarter, its financial results showed yesterday.
The group is on track to open its 180th branch in the UK, as it rolls out its localised model of lending.
Handelsbanken, which is along with Metro Bank is nominated for a City PM award, has chalked up £4.1bn in loans to UK individuals and £9.1bn to businesses. Meanwhile, deposits from consumers rose 71 per cent to £1.3bn and from firms rose 109 per cent to £6.5bn. Overall, the group made a profit after tax of 11.8bn (£1bn) Swedish kronor in the first three quarters of the year, up 10.8bn kronor in the same period of 2013.
“Strong and lasting relationships are the cornerstone of our local banking model, and we find this traditional approach strikes a similar chord in communities all over Great Britain,” said UK boss Anders Bouvin.