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.
All of Sweden’s biggest banks were either used or were attempted to be used in a major money laundering operation uncovered by a network of journalists in which at least $20 billion was moved from Russia to international accounts between 2010 and 2014.
Sweden’s financial watchdog has hit two of Sweden’s biggest banks, Nordea and Handelsbanken, with heavy fines for their failure to prevent money laundering.
Sweden's second-largest bank, Handelsbanken, announced record annual profits on Wednesday driven by strong growth in private
lending and continued overseas expansion.
One of Sweden's top businessmen Sverker Martin-Löf quit as chairman of industry giant Industrivärden this week amid a scandal over private jets and hunting trips. The Local looks at one of the biggest corporate scandals in Sweden in decades.
Swedish bank Nordea on Thursday posted falling profits in the second quarter while competitor Handelsbanken announced growing figures for the same period.
Sweden's Handelsbanken is opening a new UK branch every eighth day, securing its place not only in British borrowers' hearts, but reintroducing high street banking in an industry laid to waste by call centres.
Swedish bank Nordea announced a nearly 70 percent rise in third-quarter profits on Wednesday mainly thanks to higher lending and a tighter control on costs, but nevertheless failed to meet analysts' expectations.
Moody's Investors Service on Thursday downgraded its long-term ratings on three Swedish banks, believed to be at risk if the European financial crisis deepens.
Sweden's second-biggest bank, Handelsbanken, posted much-improved earnings for the full-year 2011 largely thanks to a decline in credit losses, the company said on Wednesday.
A high-ranking manager at Swedish bank Handelsbanken has been arrested on suspicion of having lent out millions of kronor without requiring the be secured by any collateral.
Sweden’s Finance Minister Anders Borg wants to put the squeeze on Swedish banks, where profits have swelled, shareholder dividends ballooned, and interest margins on mortgages doubled.
The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority has fined both Swedbank and Handelsbanken for shortcomings in their depositary bank functions, the agency said in a statement on Thursday.
Sweden’s Handelsbanken reported 12 percent increase in net profits for the third quarter on Wednesday, as reduced losses on lending activities made up for falling net interest income.
Sweden’s Handelsbanken on Wednesday announced lower quarterly profits which nevertheless beat forecasts on the back of a jump in earnings from basic lending operations.
The four main Swedish banks, some of which have requested bailout money from shareholders and the state, are expected to dish out a whopping 5.4 billion kronor ($769 million) in employee bonuses for 2009, despite substantial credit losses.
Sweden's two largest banks exceeded market expectations, with Nordea and Handelsbanken both boasting profit increases in their second quarterly reports today.
