”We want to be leaders in our business markets and also be perceived as the best bank. Therefore it is great that we now, for the first time, have been awarded Bank of the Year simultaneously in all countries where we are a full-service bank,” says Annika Falkengren, SEB's Chief Executive Officer.
The appointment is made by The Banker, part of the Financial Times Group and the leading banking and finance magazine in the world. The magazine annually awards one bank in each country as Bank of the Year. This list includes nearly 150 countries worldwide. The award is based on a comprehensive questionnaire, and a jury connected to the magazine takes the decision.
This is the second time that SEB receives the award in Sweden. Previously, SEB in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have also received the award, but this is the first time that SEB scores a grand slam, topping the list at the same time in all four full-service banking countries.
In Estonia, it is the fourth consecutive year that SEB has been Bank of the Year.
“SEB has been a frontrunner in Estonia, introducing development with the customer in focus, and not just by providing great products and services, but also by raising our customers’ financial knowledge."
"The most important development last year was the implementation of special advisory tools for private and corporate customers’ financial assessment. Both of these were on a level clearly differentiating us from our competitors, says Riho Unt, head of SEB in Estonia.
"Being recognised as the best bank in the country is not something that happens by coincidence. It’s a result of the right choices that you have made previously."
"A sustainable business approach, being customer oriented and a long-term view on business development are the key factors that have contributed to the award for SEB in Latvia,” says Ainārs Ozols, head of SEB in Latvia.
Raimondas Kvedaras, head of SEB in Lithuania, says that the long term customer relations strategy has enabled SEB to maintain a high level of customer trust in an uncertain market situation.
“This has given us an opportunity to significantly increase both the bank's deposit portfolio and our income and at the same time improve the quality in our credit portfolio."
"We have also financed a large number of new promising business projects while at the same time aimed at providing convenient and modern daily banking services, to both private individuals and corporate customers,” says Raimondas Kvedaras.