Handelsbanken - View from the Church Tower

Nordic bank, Handelsbanken has a business philosophy known colloquially as the 'Church Tower'.

The 'Church Tower' symbolises a base from which a business operation can view its customer base, and this is certainly true of Handelsbanken in Birmingham, the West Midlands, where a potential one million customers live and work.

Handelsbanken, the foremost bank in Sweden with branches worldwide, has operated in the UK for twenty years. The Birmingham Office was launched in 1994, and now, having built on its original Nordic customer base, offers a highly individual corporate and personal banking service to customers looking for a different approach to money matters.

Jonathan Allen is the Branch Manager. He says:

"The West Midlands is a key location for Handelsbanken as we have an established core customer base due to many Nordic owned companies locating within the region. We have now expanded to service the wider community and more branches are planned for the West Midlands over the next two years.

"One of the main benefits of the Birmingham location is the proximity to excellent associated professional services such as legal and accounting firms. We work together to provide an all-round first class service for our customers. We have all the operational advantages of London, with none of the disadvantages. Commercial and domestic property prices are significantly better value, and the leisure and cultural opportunities are varied and plentiful.

"We have recruited highly qualified staff from the region who have embraced the Handelsbanken culture and are actively encouraged to develop and grow with the company. Experienced Managers are engaged on an International Leadership Programme, which offers superb opportunities for collaborating with colleagues from around the world."

Each Handelsbanken customer has a personal Account Manager who is contactable by telephone or email on a daily basis. Financial solutions are created entirely to match the needs of the individual or organisation, not by product-led targets and off-the-shelf options. The bank operates in a completely decentralised manner whereby the Account Manager is given the authority and flexibility to structure an appropriate package. Accounts are managed and controlled from the local branch, not some remote faceless, centralised head office.

Every customer is known personally to the Account Manager so there is never a question of a customer being "just a number". Although the latest technology is used to streamline routines, the company is not driven by systems. It is this approach that has gained Handelsbanken its international reputation for quiet efficiency and highly professional customer care.

The West Midlands branch offers all the services of a traditional clearing bank, cheque accounts, overdrafts, loans, foreign exchange and treasury products, leasing and hire purchase, trade finance and guarantees, and internet banking. Customers are offered a counter service around the UK via one of the clearing banks.

Jonathan and his team are optimistic about the future for Handelsbanken in Birmingham and quietly appreciate the view from their 'Church Tower'.

Interview given by Jonathan Allen, Branch Manager.

For more information about Handelsbanken visit www.handelsbanken.co.uk