Handelsbanken reports steady results in Q3
Summary of Q3 results, January-September 2020 figures compared with January-September 2019
- Lending up 2% to £21.8bn (corporate lending up 1% to £14.9bn)
- Deposits up 15% to £17.2bn (corporate deposits up 18% to £12.1bn)
- Assets under management steady at £3.8bn
- Income decreased by 3% to £420.2m
- Result before credit losses down by 9% to £146.6m
- Loan loss ratio of 0.04%
- Operating profits down by 15% to £137.7m
Mikael Sorensen, UK CEO, says: “We’ve always seen it as our responsibility to stand strong enough to support our customers throughout the economic cycle.
“We value greatly the high levels of trust customers have in us, reflected in their decisions to place considerably more deposits with the Bank through these uncertain times. It is also encouraging that our loan losses remain at low levels, as we continue to focus on working closely with our customers, who tend to share our values of financial prudence and responsibility.
“Ever since the Covid-19 crisis began our branches have prioritised keeping in touch with their existing customers and providing them with support sensitive to their individual needs. We are humbled to see this positively reflected in both the Competition and Markets Authority’s independent service quality survey for business banking and in EPSI Rating’s annual survey of both personal and business banking customers, resulting in Handelsbanken remaining the UK’s top-rated bank for overall quality of service and for customer satisfaction, respectively.
“At this time costs have naturally come into ever greater focus and we are therefore pleased to report that this quarter we were able to reduce our costs to their lowest levels in six quarters.
“As we enter the final quarter of this year amidst ongoing uncertainty, our role of supporting our customers through these challenging times will remain front and centre.”
Handelsbanken forms long-term, personal relationships with customers, through its distinct local relationship banking model. Customers have direct access to experienced branch teams who are empowered to make decisions locally, based on each customer’s specific needs and without product or sales targets.
This formula has, for the fifth time, led to the Bank topping recommendations for its services in four of the five categories of the Competition and Markets Authority’s independent service quality survey for business banking, the results of which were published in August 20202. In addition, for the twelfth year in a row, Handelsbanken has been top-ranked for satisfaction, for both personal and business banking, in an independent survey of British bank customers.
Handelsbanken launched in the UK in 1982 and, over the years, has developed into a bigger and broader UK business, based on customer demand for its personal approach to banking.
In December 2018, in a demonstration of its long-term commitment to the UK, Handelsbanken became a fully licensed UK bank, Handelsbanken plc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of its Swedish parent, Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ).
Handelsbanken has since continued to invest in its UK infrastructure, strengthening its foundations for ongoing growth and securing its long-term presence in the UK.
Handelsbanken plc has been assigned a long term credit rating of AA with a negative outlook by international credit ratings agency, Fitch – a position reaffirmed in September this year. Handelsbanken plc also has a long term credit rating of AA- by Standard & Poor’s. The ratings are the same as those given for the subsidiary’s Swedish parent, Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ), and confirm the Bank’s strength, stability and creditworthiness.