瑞典商業銀行handelsbanken
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特色服務: 長期活動:
瑞典商業銀行(Svenska Handels Banken,SHB)成立于1871年,以北歐四國(丹麥、芬蘭、挪威、瑞典)和英國作為本土業務市場,該行于1982年在北京成立代表處,2002年在上海設立代表處,當前正式升格為分行。瑞典商業銀行上海分行于2005年9月6号在外灘12号正式開張,該行在中國的目标客戶為北歐和英國公司在中國設立的子公司,并且還将為那些從事北歐和英國地區與中國開展貿易活動的公司提供銀行服務。
Svenska Handelsbanken AB is a Swedish bank.
The history of Svenska Handelsbanken goes back to 1871 when a number of prominent companies and individuals in Stockholm's business world founded Stockholms Handelsbank. The bank began operations on July 1, 1871 in rented offices located in the central Old Town district of Stockholm, which at that time was still the commercial and financial centre of the city.
At the outset, the bank proclaimed that it would pursue "true banking activities" with deposits and loans and that it would focus on the local bank market, that is, the business activities of Sweden's capital city. The bank's first year of operations was very successful and after only a couple of years, Handelsbanken held a strong position among Stockholm banks.
[edit] The Fraenckel periodDuring the early 1880s, the bank grew more rapidly than its competitors. The crash in the construction sector in Stockholm in 1885 and the downturn in the economy that began in the same year seriously affected the previously expanding bank. Following weak results in the early 1890s, the bank's owners demanded new management. In 1893, Louis Fraenckel, a private banker, was appointed as the new managing director of the bank. He would lead the bank for 18 years up to 1911.
Slightly after Fraenckel's appointment, rapid economic development in Sweden created a strong demand for banking services. Competition was tough among the banks. Fraenckel's strategy for increasing profitability was to focus more on bond and foreign exchange dealings.
In 1896, the head office was moved to rented premises in the new business centre of Stockholm in the lower Norrmalm area. Not until 1905, long after its two major competitors, did Handelsbanken move into its own prestigious building located on Kungsträdgårdsgatan. Since then, these premises have served as the bank's headquarters, now greatly expanded. In 1905, the bank had some 50 employees working at six branch offices. It reported a profit of one and a half million Swedish kronor and an impressive 0.31 cost/income ratio.
[edit] Stockholms Handelsbank expands to become Svenska HandelsbankenThe first decade of the twentieth century was an era of bank mergers in Sweden as well as in Europe. The number of banks in Sweden was reduced by more than one-half. As far as Handelsbanken was concerned, the first big acquisition occurred in 1914 with the merger with Bankaktiebolaget Norra Sverige. This significantly expanded the bank's operations in the strongly developing northern parts of the country, giving it branch offices in 36 new towns, primarily along Norrland's coast.
While Handelsbanken's competitors expanded to the west and south during this consolidation period, the bank's management continued to look to the north where the forest industry was undergoing a boom. In 1917, Handelsbanken further strengthened its position in this promising area through the acquisition of Norrlandsbanken and its 79 branch offices. As with Bankaktiebolaget Norra Sverige, Norrlandsbanken was a product of the merger of several smaller banks.
Even though the acquisitions in Norrland improved the ratio between deposits and loans, such a strong concentration in northern Sweden would soon prove to be unwise. In 1918 Handelsbanken opened new branch offices in Göteborg and Malmö. The Stockholm banks found that there was also an attractive deposit surplus in southern Sweden, and in 1919 Handelsbanken acquired Bankaktiebolaget Södra Sverige with its 67 branch offices.
Following the merger with Bankaktiebolaget Södra Sverige, the bank changed its name to Svenska Handelsbanken. In addition, Svenska Handelsbanken adopted the octagon symbol from Bankaktiebolaget Södra Sverige, which would function as its own logo for many years.