Results Confirm Growing Demand for Local Relationship Banking

The team at Handelsbanken in Chesterfield is celebrating following another year of growth for branches across the UK.

Crediting its success to the loyalty of local clients, the 143-year-old bank has revealed a 14 per cent rise in lending to British customers (Q4 ’14 vs Q4 ’13). Business lending has increased 10 per cent, to £9.59 billion, while lending to personal banking customers has risen 22 per cent, to £4.35 billion. UK customer deposits have increased 56 per cent over the period, to £7.72 billion.

Since becoming part of the Handelsbanken group in May 2013, assets under management at Heartwood have risen by 53% to £2.3 billion. This growth reflects the steady expansion of wealth management services, now available to customers throughout Handelsbanken’s nationwide branch network.

These positive results follow the recent appointment of a new staff member – Fraser Kirkman – who joined the Chesterfield team this month to help meet the growing demand of both existing and new customers locally.

Run by 5 experienced local bankers, Handelsbanken Chesterfield is now one of 189 local British branches.

Phil Walker, Manager of Handelsbanken in Chesterfield commented: “We are finding that both corporate and individual customers continue to choose Handelsbanken for the way we deliver long term relationship banking, always from the local branch and always based on trust and high levels of personal service. We continue to grow through personal recommendations from our satisfied customers and this drives our success in the UK.”

Anders Bouvin, Handelsbanken’s UK Chief Executive, comments: “For us it’s not about how far or how fast we grow in the UK. Instead it’s about ensuring every day that our branches are able to deliver the best possible service to their customers, based only on their individual needs.”