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A G E N T
B A N K S
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M A J O R
M A R K E T S ]
Finland
SEB
SEB outscores its main regional rival in Helsinki, which tends to
be one of four regional markets purchased by most of the banks
and brokers that use SEB in the region.
Respondents reckon the client service is as good here as it is
in any other Nordic market and – if they do not quite see the
bank as an extension of their own operations – there are no
serious complaints about the way the relationship is run either.
“Excellent relationship management in the four Nordic markets
with strong market expertise and client focus,” is how one client
describes the regional offering. The banking and broker-dealing
clients that SEB services best have no concerns about how their
accounts are managed, whether or not their trades are going to
settle on time, what the technology can do for them, or whether
the bank will put their assets at risk. As at other SEB operations
in the region, the scores do dip in asset servicing, and especially
corporate actions.
Nordea
This is not the highest-scoring operation in the Nordea net-
work, or the most stable, though the volatility in the scores owes
something to the fact that they are not derived from a lavish
turnout by clients. Nothing illustrates the mixed nature of the
scoring better than innovation, where Nordea is simultaneously
praised for its willingness to adapt to change but less admired
for its willingness to innovate in ways that save clients time or
money. But Nordea Helsinki is respected for the quality of the
client service, and respondents clearly think their relationship
with the bank is soundly based on an accurate understanding of
their needs. Settlement attracts no brickbats at all, and there are
plaudits in cash and FX.
Though clients would like more choices and fuller disclosure
of costs, and not just in cash reinvestment and cross-currency
trades, pricing and transparency are not areas in which Nordea
is at a conspicuous disadvantage on either a regional or a global
basis.
Handelsbanken Securities Services
Helsinki is important to the remodelled regional offering of
Handelsbanken. It is from here that the bank processes all
settlements and reconciliations and the mandatory components
of Nordic corporate actions, while leaving local operations to
manage tax claims, legal issues, cash management and voluntary
corporate actions. Indeed, it is the proudest boast of the bank
that it is the only one of the three regional contestants to have
offshored nothing and instead fulfils all of its duties within the
region. It is a decision that reflects the reassuring cultural con-
servatism of Handelsbanken as a whole.
The bank has a domestic clientele here, but the respondents
to the survey are drawn from the international clients Handels-
banken services throughout the region, so their scores do not
differentiate between markets. Their number is barely sufficient
to make a meaningful assessment. However, the bank can look
forward to an uplift in appreciation of its technology as clients
start to make use of the new platform.
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SCORES
Country Scores Global Scores
4.09 5.06 5.20
5.20 4.09 5.39 5.40
5.53 5.40 5.71 5.44
5.63 6.00 4.56 5.70 5.68
5.67 4.98 2.88 5.23 5.46
Liquidity management 4.38 4.00 n/a 4.29 4.89
Regulation and compliance 5.54 5.84 4.63 5.59 5.64
Innovation 5.30 4.67 4.45 4.98 5.18
Asset servicing 4.95 4.89 3.73 4.84 5.09
Pricing 4.50 4.93 n/a 4.62 4.82
Technology 5.62 4.98 4.80 5.29 5.28
Cash management and FX 4.26 4.05 4.44 4.19 4.25
Total 5.34 5.07 4.23 5.16 5.24
SEB Nordea Bank Handelsbanken
Market share (% of responses) 57% 29% 14%
Relationship management 5.60 4.70 Client service 5.94 Account management 5.93 Asset safety Risk management
Fall 2018
globalcustodian.com
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