Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (, abbreviated SEB, is a northern European financial services group headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. In Sweden and the Baltic countries, SEB has a full financial service offering. In Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, and the United Kingdom, the bank's operations are focused on corporate and investment banking services to corporate and institutional clients. The bank was founded by the SwedishWallenberg family, which is still SEB's largest shareholder through investment company Investor AB.
History
In 1972,
Stockholms Enskilda Bank
Stockholms Enskilda Bank, sometimes called Enskilda banken or SEB, was a Swedish bank, founded in 1856 by André Oscar Wallenberg as Stockholm's first private bank. In 1857, Stockholms Enskilda Bank began to employ women, claiming to be the f ...
Skandinaviska Banken
Skandinaviska Banken, literally the ''Scandinavian Bank'', was a Swedish bank founded in Gothenburg, 1864. Its foundation coincided with the political aspirations of the Scandinavian movement, which sought to unite Sweden, Norway and Denmark int ...
(established in 1864) merged to form SEB. Reasons for the merger included creating a bank better positioned to serve corporate clients and to fend off competition from major international banks.
SEB acquired Swedish insurance company Trygg-Hansa in 1997, and integrated its life insurance activities. The property and casualty insurance portion of Trygg-Hansa was later sold.
In 1998, the company changed its logo and brand name from SE-Banken to SEB. At the end of that same year, SEB bought its first shares of the three Baltic banks Eesti Ühispank (Estonia), Latvijas Unibank (Latvia) and Vilniaus Bankas (Lithuania). In 2000, SEB acquired Germany’s Bank für Gemeinwirtschaft (BfG) and the remaining parts of the three Baltic banks.
In early 2001, the company announced plans for a merger with the FöreningsSparbanken (now
Swedbank
Swedbank AB () is a Nordic- Baltic banking group based in Stockholm, Sweden, offering retail banking, asset management, financial, and other services. In 2019 Swedbank had 900,000 private and 130,000 corporate clients and a 60% market share o ...
), which was called off when the European Commission demanded major concessions for its approval.
In 2007/2008, SEB developed the green bond concept together with the World Bank.
After several years of weak profitability, SEB sold its German retail banking operations to Spain's Banco Santander in January 2011.
SEB sold its retail banking operations in Ukraine to Eurobank Group in June 2012.
Business
In Sweden and the Baltic countries, SEB is a
universal bank
A universal bank participates in many kinds of banking activities and is both a commercial bank and an investment bank as well as providing other financial services such as insurance.Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. Since 2017 the sustainability report is integrated in the Annual Report and is aligned with reporting frameworks such as Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, TCFD and the Principles for Responsible Banking.
Denmark
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
)
* SEB Corporate Bank (
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...