FEATURE
Experienced leadership builds on Handelsbanken’ s Teesside success
The branch, now led by David Thompson, will serve individuals, businesses and property investors across the region.
David brings with him more than a decade of experience at Handelsbanken. After beginning his career with the bank as an account manager in Stockton, he later became branch manager elsewhere in the network and most recently served as a senior credit risk analyst.
His return to Teesside marks a homecoming to the community where he built his longest-standing relationships – many of which continue to this day.
“ It is a privilege to return to Teesside to lead the branch,” says David.“ Teesside is a place where relationships matter. Many of our customers have been with us for years, and we now work with second and even third generations of the same families.
“ This continuity means we understand what’ s important to them. Our expanded team means we can bring even more expertise together to support people and businesses across the region as we continue to grow.”
Homecoming – David Thompson, third left, back row, with some of his Handelsbanken colleagues, is returning to the area where he began his career with the firm.
Local relationship bank Handelsbanken has reinforced its longstanding presence with an expanded team at its Teesside branch, bringing together a wealth of banking expertise under one roof.
Europe’ s safest commercial bank *, with a fully licensed UK presence since 2018. The bank operates with a decentralised model, meaning colleagues in each branch are empowered to make most decisions locally. This allows customers to deal directly with experienced decisionmakers who know them personally and understand the local economy.
The Teesside branch is home to specialists across corporate, individual and wealth management services, ensuring customers can access a wide range of banking support in one place. Whether it’ s helping businesses plan for growth, assisting with a home purchase or guiding long-term investment planning, the team works to provide a consistently high standard of service.
Service built around the customer At Handelsbanken, there are no automated phone menus or anonymous call centres. Customers can pick up the phone and speak directly to someone they know or meet them face-to-face. This personal approach has helped the bank consistently achieve top rankings in independent customer satisfaction surveys for customer service.
Investing in Teesside’ s future The Teesside branch is located in modern, spacious premises in Stockton, designed to provide the best business environment for customers and colleagues alike. With dedicated meeting spaces, the branch can also host customer and community events, reinforcing its role as part of the local business network.
Community engagement is central to the team’ s values. Over the last four years, the branch has supported Butterwick Hospice, Teesside Hospice and the Daisy Chain charity through events and sponsorship, reflecting Handelsbanken’ s long-term commitment to the area.
David is clear about the branch’ s mission:“ Teesside has a rich history of enterprise and community spirit. We are here to support that, helping our customers and our region to thrive.
“ By combining our local knowledge with the strength and stability of our bank, we are in a stronger position than ever to support our customers’ needs.”
A relationship bank at heart Founded in Sweden in 1871, Handelsbanken has grown to become
For more information about how Handelsbanken Teesside can support you, contact the branch at Second Floor, Lakeside House, Kingfisher Way, Stockton-on-Tees TS18 3NB, visit handelsbanken. co. uk or call 01642 632980.
* Svenska Handelsbanken AB( publ) is Europe’ s safest commercial bank in Global Finance’ s ranking of the World’ s Safest Banks 2024. Global Finance is a monthly magazine covering worldwide economic, financial and political issues from a global corporate perspective. Each year it publishes a ranking of the world’ s safest commercial banks, based on long-term currency ratings issued by Fitch, Standard & Poor’ s and Moody’ s Investors Service for the last annual reporting period. For the purpose of this ranking, commercial banks are defined as those that are not majority-owned by governments and not sponsored by governments or regional bodies. See gfmag. com / award / worlds-safest-banks-2024-commercial-top-50 /
** To find out more, visit bva-bdrc. com / business-banking-service-quality The voice of business in the Tees region | 55