Swedish banking groups
Over the past decade, Sweden’s leading banks have evolved into financial groups with extensive international activities. This development is partly due to areas such as life insurance, fund management and mortgage lending becoming an increasingly important part of the groups’ business activities alongside traditional banking. It has also involved geographical expansion by the groups, especially within the Nordic and Baltic regions.

Nordea http://www.nordea.se/
Nordea is the largest financial enterprise in the Nordic region. The group includes leading banks in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway, and Postgirot Bank, which was acquired in 2001. Nordea’s Swedish business includes one of Sweden’s largest finance companies and major players in fund management and mortgage credits.

SEB http://www.seb.se/
SEB is the name of the financial group that has been formed around Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken. SEB has developed substantial international activities, partly via the acquisition of Germany’s BfG Bank (now SEB). In Sweden, SEB has a particularly strong position in fund management and life insurance, as well as in the mortgage and finance company sectors. SEB is also a traditionally strong player on the stock market and in currency trading as well as in international payments.

Handelsbanken http://www.handelsbanken.se/
Svenska Handelsbanken (SHB) has more than 450 branches in Sweden. The bank also
expanded in the Nordic region in the 1990s via acquisition and by opening branch offices. Stadshypotek, Handelsbankens’ wholly owned mortgage credit institution, belongs to the largest players on the Swedish mortgage credit market. Handelsbanken also has extensive operations in the fund management, life insurance and finance company sectors.

Swedbank http://www.swedbank.se/
FöreningsSparbanken (Swedbank) was formed in 1997 as a result of the merger of Sparbanken Sverige and the Föreningsbanken group of co-operative banks. The bank has an extensive network of over 510 branches in Sweden, and is also working closely with Sweden’s independent savings banks and partly-owned banks among the savings banks movement. The group includes Robur, Sweden’s largest fund management company, and Spintab, which is one of the largest mortgage finance institutions in the country. In September 2002, the group acquired HSB Bank, today FSB BolånDirekt Bank, a small Swedish bank specialising in mortgage credit.