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MONEY

Swedish banking giant quits Baltics – says it’s not worth the cost

Swedish banking giant Handelsbanken is closing down its Baltic operations, but denied the decisionhad anything to do with recent money laundering scandals tied to two other Scandinavian banks.

Published: 16 May 2019 11:54 CEST
Swedish banking giant quits Baltics – says it's not worth the cost
Handelsbanken's office in Stockholm. Photo: Alexander Larsson Vierth/TT

Handelsbanken said on Thursday it was leaving the Baltics due to unsatisfactory performance.

“We have come to the conclusion that profitability is too low, while costs are too high. Despite efficiency-enhancing measures in the past few years, the operations in the three Baltic States have not shown satisfactory profits,” Richard Johnson, head of Handelsbanken International, told AFP.

He went on to say that circumstances had also changed drastically since the bank established its presence in the region a decade earlier, and that local offices were no longer necessary.

“Rapid technological advances, which have resulted in new players on the market, and new opportunities, mean that we can now help many of our customers directly from the home markets,” Johnson said.

The bank would therefore start to wind down its business in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania during 2020.

READ ALSO: What you need to set up a bank account in Sweden

Johnson also stated that the bank's decision had nothing to do with the recent scandals surrounding allegations of extensive money laundering at two other Scandinavian banks tied to Baltic operations.

Denmark's largest bank Danske Bank is currently the target of criminal probes in several countries over some 200 billion euros ($226 billion) in transfers that passed through its Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015, involving some 15,000 foreign clients, many Russian.

Swedish competitor Swedbank has also been embroiled in a scandal since February when an investigative news show on public broadcaster SVT claimed to have seen documents showing that at least 40 billion kronor ($4.3 billion) of suspicious transactions had been channelled to Baltic countries from Swedbank accounts.

Many of the transactions took place between 2007 and 2015, and some of the money may have first transited Danske Bank.

Handelsbanken has largely remained clear of the money laundering scandals and its operations in the Baltic States have only represented a fraction of some of its Nordic competitors.

For instance, according to the Estonian Banking Assocation, Handelsbanken's market share in Estonia in 2017 was only one percent, compared to Swedbank's 40 percent.

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MONEY

How to protect your Swedish savings when the stock market tumbles

Recent stock market developments have made consumers in Sweden worried about the savings they have invested in the market.

Published: 5 August 2024 14:44 CEST
How to protect your Swedish savings when the stock market tumbles

Stock market volatility can be unsettling, especially when it hits close to home.

On Monday, the Stockholm stock exchange mirrored global market turmoil, with the OMXS index dropping 4.8 percent in morning trading. By 11 am, there was a slight recovery, but the index remained 2.6 percent down.

READ MORE: Stockholm stock exchange opens in the red amid global market jitters

Big names in Swedish industry weren’t spared: Boliden, a major mining company, dropped 3 percent, defence giant Saab fell 1.5 percent, and engineering firm Sandvik declined by 2.6 percent. In the banking sector, SEB took a 2.4 percent hit, while Swedbank dropped 3.6 percent.

This turbulence in the Swedish market came after significant drops in Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, which experienced its most significant one-day fall since the 1987 Black Monday Crash, and similar declines in markets across South Korea, Frankfurt, London, and anticipated losses on Wall Street.

In these uncertain times, many Swedish consumers with money invested in the market wonder whether they should do something to safeguard their savings.

Avoid impulsive decisions, expert warns

Stock market volatility can raise concerns about the safety of your savings, but according to SEB household economist Américo Fernández, there’s no need to panic.

“Should they be worried? I mean, no. I would say that this is how the stock market works: there’s a lot of uncertainty and risk connected,” he told The Local. 

“When you have savings on the global stock exchanges, this will happen, especially when we’ve had at least six months of really, really good returns – maybe even too good. Then, this is a little bit expected.

“But of course, it’s always dramatic when we have such developments in the stock market in just one or two days.”

Slow and steady wins the (investment) race

For those wondering how to protect themselves against such crashes, Fernández emphasised a consistent and steady approach to investing.

“The most common thing, the best strategy for the broad masses, is to save on a monthly basis. And this is what many Swedes do; our surveys show that 9 out of 10 Swedes save on the stock market every month. This is precisely what you should do: invest in a mutual fund, which is quite common in Sweden,” he said.

“In circumstances such as these, you buy more at a lower price, instead of timing the stock market, which is almost impossible, continue your monthly investments through mutual funds. That’s a good way of diversifying your portfolio.”

READ ALSO: Will the krona’s decline stop Riksbank from cutting rates?

Ignore the alarmist headlines

The SEB household economist also advised against reacting hastily to alarming headlines.

“Another thing that households should be aware of is that when you see alarming headlines, you should sit and calmly ride the wave out.

“It’s understandable that a lot of people are affected by herd mentality when we have these negative headlines. Everyone, but especially households with tiny savings, acts and sells, and then they buy again when the headlines are positive, when the stock exchange is at high levels…

“That is the opposite of what you should do. Try to neglect these things and be cool in these circumstances, even though it seems bad and hurts your wallet. However, if it hurts your wallet too much, that might be a signal that you have too much money in the stock market (laughs), which can be common for younger investors. Although they have had it pretty good recently,” he noted.

This advice is not only applicable to Sweden but also relevant across Scandinavia, according to Fernández.

“I think it’s applicable. Across Scandinavia, all Nordic countries save a lot of money on the stock exchange, partially because the pension system isn’t fully funded by the government,” he said.

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