Q&A Governance

Overall sustainability governance

How is the sustainability work governed at SEB?

Strong governance is important for successful progress. We have a robust sustainability governance model, with clear roles and mandates on different levels. This model determines how we set our strategy and work to integrate sustainability into our business.

The Board of Directors is responsible for deciding on SEB’s strategy and sustainability approach, and for adopting the Corporate Sustainability Policy. The President takes decisions in the Group Executive Committee (GEC) on the development of the sustainability work, in line with the strategy set by the Board.

The president and CEO is responsible for the execution of the strategy for corporate sustainability. The president and CEO is also responsible for implementing the governance structure which has been decided by the board.

The Group Executive Sustainability Committee (GESC) manages the execution of the strategy for corporate sustainability. GESC is a decision body chaired by the President and CEO.

Sustainable Banking is responsible for coordinating and driving the overall corporate sustainability agenda. This is done in close collaboration with the Divisions and Group Staff and Support functions.

SEB’s Divisions and employees – each Head of Division, Head of Group Support function and Head of Group Staff is responsible for making sure everything is in place to meet the corporate sustainability objectives, strategy and policies. Read more about SEB’s sustainability governance.

What public sustainability-related policies does SEB have?

Our operations are governed by a set of national and international guidelines. We also have our own policies and instructions that guide our way of working.

We have five Group-wide sustainability-related policies:

Sustainability policy (adopted by the Board)
Human Rights Policy (adopted by the President and CEO)
Environmental policy (adopted by the President and CEO)
Tax policy (adopted by the Board)
Inclusion and diversity policy (adopted by the Board)

In addition, we have six industry policies and four group-wide position statements that provide guidance on "best practice" and highlight international conventions and guidelines that we encourage companies to follow. These have been adopted by the President and CEO and cover the entire SEB Group as well as SEB's business operations globally.
Read about our sustainability-related policies and guidelines.

Board of directors

Does SEB have a diversity policy for the Board of Directors?

Yes, the composition of the Board shall adhere to applicable laws and regulations and to the Policy on Suitability, Diversity and Composition of the Board of Directors, adopted by the Board. The Nomination Committee shall ensure diversity within the Board in terms of educational and professional background, gender, age and geographical provenance of the directors.

Is SEB’s chair independent?

Independent in relation to the Bank: Yes
Independent in relation to major shareholders: No

The Swedish Corporate Governance Code states that a majority of the members of the board are to be independent of the company and its management. At least two members must also be independent of the company’s major shareholders*, which means that it is possible for major shareholders of Swedish companies to appoint a majority of members with whom they have close ties. This is in line with the positive view of active and responsible ownership expressed in the preparatory documents to the Swedish Companies Act.

*Major shareholders are defined as those controlling 10 % or more of the shares or votes in the company.

The chair of the Board of SEB is not a member of the executive management of SEB and is therefore independent in relation to SEB. However, the chair is also vice chair of the Board in Investor AB, which is a major shareholder of SEB and therefore non-independent in relation to major shareholders.

Does SEB have a supervisory board?

SEB does not have a supervisory board.

Read about Corporate Governance at SEB.

How many company shares does board members hold?

Please find information for each board member in the Annual and Sustainability Report 2020, p. 84–86.

Where can I find information about the Board of Directors and CEO's compensation?

Please find information about remuneration to the Board and Group Executive Committee in the Annual and Sustainability Report p. 128.

Compensation

Is SEB’s remuneration system for the CEO and senior management linked to sustainability related KPI’s?

Yes, SEB’s CEO and executive management are followed up on sustainability-related KPI’s. In 2020, SEB continued the integration of sustainability into KPI’s for all direct reports to the Group Executive Committee.

Is compensation for other employees linked to long-term sustainability performance?

Yes, for employees with variable remuneration. The models for variable remuneration are based on financial and non-financial key ratios at group level. Non-financial goals take into account customer satisfaction, compliance and sustainability matters, for instance the bank’s own environmental impact and integration of sustainability in the business model.

Code of conduct

What stakeholders are covered by SEB’s Code of Conduct?

The Code of Conduct covers all employees of the SEB Group – in all markets where we operate – and all those who represent companies within the Group, including members of the board, independent contractors and consultants.
SEB’s Code of Conduct

Our Suppliers are covered by SEB’s Supplier Code of Conduct.
Code of Conduct for Supplier to SEB Group

Customer privacy

How is SEB working with customer privacy?

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) apply to all businesses, but have a greater effect on the financial sector, since financial institutions handle large volumes of personal data. One important requirement is the right to be forgotten – meaning that when a customer wants to be forgotten, his or her data must be deleted as long as other laws permit it. In addition, customers are to be provided easy access to their personal data and information about how their data are processed. SEB has a specially appointed data protection officer.

In SEB, we always treat the information that our customers entrust us with in a careful and responsible manner. Our privacy policy explains, among other things, which of the personal data we process, why we process them, how we collect them and how long we save the data.

Information on processing personal data (in Swedish)

Questions & answers - Governance