Global Private Banking Awards 2017: Winners’ Profiles – National Winners (Northern Europe)

Best Private Bank in Sweden
SEB Private Banking 

The advent of MiFID II has been one of the main focus of attention for private banks across Europe. For SEB Private Banking (SEB PB), preparations for the new regulatory environment have resulted in a review of their pricing models and offerings.

“Transparency and trust are important cornerstones of our business. We are using the opportunity brought by MiFID II to clarify our offering to our clients, so they know what they get and how much they pay for it,” says Martin Gärtner, head of SEB Private Banking.

Being large in the Nordics, but small in a global context, can be a challenge when it comes to digitisation. “In a sense, new regulation such as MiFID II has forced us to focus more on our core, and to brutally prioritise among focus areas and activities,” he adds.

The bank prides itself on its close relationship with clients. “Last year was filled with abnormal market conditions and unexpected events,” explains Mr Gärtner. “Sub-zero interest rates in core private banking markets, Brexit, Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, collapsing oil prices at the start of the year, and equity markets hovering in negative territory for 10 out of 12 months, to name a few. For us this meant one thing more than anything else: staying close to our customers.” 

Being prepared and well-staffed to respond to any queries and provide timely information during these uncertain times was key.

Also responding to client demands the firm has increased its focus on sustainability. SEB offers a range of sustainable funds within both equities and fixed income, including specific strategies for green bonds and microfinance. “In 2016, we continued our journey with the integration of ESG in all our portfolio management teams and started to cooperate with Hermes EOS, who will engage with companies outside Scandinavia on our behalf,” explains Mr Gärtner.

In terms of automated advice, one of the most important steps for the bank was the investment in the private finance app TINK. The app enables customers to keep track of their money by automatic categorisation of transaction data, allowing for the analysis of spending patterns. It also offers security in terms of highlighting possible double payments, as well as unusual high spending in one day.

“The core of our strategy is the same as it has been for quite some time: to serve Nordic and Baltic clients domestically or following them abroad. We still believe we have unparalleled strength in doing so in our chosen target markets,” he adds. PG

Best Private Bank in Denmark
Nykredit Private Banking

Maintaining quality at a time of high growth can often be a difficult trick to pull off, but Nykredit is clearly managing this in its home market of Denmark.

In the autumn of 2015, Nykredit, the country’s biggest lender, decided to expand its private banking programme, which was hitherto restricted to a single office in Copenhagen that targeted clients with assets above DKK10m ($1.6m).

It created two segments. Private banking is for clients with an AUM of DKK 2m-7m, while the private banking elite division is for people with investable assets above this.

Private banking is now run out of 10 cities across Denmark. This is part of its strategy of “getting closer to the customers”. Private banking elite operates in Copenhagen and Aarhus.

Clients in private banking have their own wealth planner, and also offer direct access to investment advisory services and other areas of specialism. Those in private banking elite may be assigned a personal Nykredit markets adviser, and clients with significant investable funds may be assigned a personal asset management adviser.

AuM for the private banking elite division has grown more rapidly than for the private bank as a whole, but Nykredit is looking in particular for the very biggest fish to fry: it has hired new relationship managers for its ‘private banking elite ultima +’ programme, designed for ultra high net worth individuals. 

Asked how Nykredit Private Banking has beaten off more famous international rivals to win the award of Best Private Bank in Denmark, the bank says: “We have been in the Danish market for many years, building a growing footprint in the Danish private banking market.” DT

Best Private Bank in the Nordics;
Best Private Bank in Finland;
Best Private Bank in Norway
Nordea Private Banking

At Nordea, the largest private bank in the Nordics, assets under management rose by 8 per cent to €86bn ($102bn) last year, while income growth was also solid, as efforts to become a more “agile” organisation seemingly paid off. 

The private bank established a new platform, called The Ocean, aimed at developing and implementing business development initiatives by introducing “agile teams”, while leveraging the Nordea Group’s competences, explains Thorben Sander, head of Nordea Private Banking.

These teams operate as “speedboats” organised in “fleets” on strategic themes and all of them must contribute to building and sustaining client satisfaction as well as employee engagement, he says.

The bank rolled out a Next Generation programme in 2016 in all its markets, and has also transformed its wealth advisory approach to provide a one-stop shop, including legal advice and inheritance planning, as well as specialised support to entrepreneurs.

“We are confident that this approach helps us unlock the full potential of our client’s wealth,” says Mr Sander. 

Last year, the bank launched the Nordea Start-up Accelerator, whose objective is to create business development hubs and enhance collaboration between the group and start-ups. This is achieved by matching fintechs with dedicated mentors in Nordea. 

“One of our success stories, Feelingstream, uses AI to automatically analyse text, and opens up new opportunities to improve our customer service,” states Mr Sander.

When it comes to technological innovation, the introduction of digital documents and digital signatures, launched to speed up client processes, has been particularly welcome. Also, advisers have been equipped with a new interactive digital presentation tool to enhance their meetings. In addition, the bank expanded its digital communication through webinars and podcasts.

These solutions followed the launch of e-Branches, offering the same services as physical branches, including video chats with advisers, but with more flexible opening hours, including evenings and weekends. 

Going forward, the bank sees “considerable potential” in robotic process automation and is in the process of developing and implementing new solutions, while the Robotics Centre of Excellence, established in February this year, supports business units.

“The private banking industry is undergoing significant changes and challenges, ranging from increasing regulatory pressures and digitalisation to changing client preferences,” says Mr Sander. 

“In this environment, modern customised solutions and the ability to cater to vastly different client preferences will play a fundamental role.” ET