Swedbank brand to be launched in the Baltics this autumn
2008-05-21 Back
Hansabank name will be changed to Swedbank in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia in the autumn of 2008. Full migration to the new brand will take about one year and is expected to be completed by autumn 2009. The central promise of the Swedbank brand is service leadership in all markets where it’s introduced.
"Changing the brand is a long-term commitment from Swedbank Group – our message to the clients and to the society is that we are to stay in the Baltic region and consider it of key importance for the overall banking group. Under the new brand, we will be continuously committed to delivering the best service in the market," commented Swedbank CEO Jan Liden. "We will also continue intensive sharing of know-how and best practice between our organisations as we have a lot to learn from each other. Hansabank is a leading financial institution in the Baltic markets and the brand is known as a success story. I’m proud of the work done and results delivered by the people working for the company in the three countries. Now we’ll take a step forward with the purpose to jointly strengthen further Swedbank Group’s position as the leading bank in the Baltic Sea region," he added.
During the past two years, Swedbank brand has been successfully launched in Sweden, Russia and Ukraine. "It is common for international organisations to have one name and face in all markets where they operate. Considering the present changes in Hansabank organisation from country-based approach to more Baltic-centered operating model and stronger cross-border co-op, it is the right time to implement brand change in this region as well," said Erkki Raasuke, CEO of Hansabank. According to his words, the brand change will not bring along changes in the bank’s current business philosophy nor in its core values – those are common for the whole group and will form a strong basis for the new brand to be introduced everywhere in the Baltics.
Hansabank will be changed to Swedbank during the autumn, the more precise timeline will depend on the finalizing of the necessary preparatory activities. The change will not bring along any additional duties for the bank’s clients – all agreements, etc will be continued as they are today.
The history of Swedbank Group dates back to year 1820 with the establishment of Sweden’s first savings bank in Gothenburg. Today the banking group operates in a large variety of international markets including Sweden, Baltics, Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Spain, US, China, and Japan. It has more than 22,000 employees and serves a total of around 9 million private customers and 500,000 corporate customers in its home markets of Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Swedbank Group purchased 100% of Hansabank stocks in spring 2005.
