Over the past three years, several Nordic banks have closed their operations in Asia, but SEB continues to develop its business with a focus on supporting northern European companies with operations in the region.
“Asia is a vital region for many of our northern European corporate customers, and we have been in place to serve them with advice and financial services for more than 40 years. Through these new appointments we can uphold our strong presence and continue developing business in cooperation with our customers,” says Katarina Jonsson, Head of SEB International.
SEB’s organisation in Asia consists of branches in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, plus representative offices in Beijing and New Delhi. More than 170 employees work in the region, serving some 750 corporate customers from the bank’s home markets. SEB also offers Nordic investment products to large, Asian financial institutions and has operations in asset management, shipping and trade financing.
Fredrik Hähnel has worked in the region for close to 20 years, both in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Since 2015 he has had overarching responsibility for operations in China and Hong Kong, but in his new role he will be head of the Singapore branch, which is the largest in the region, as well as Head of Asia, holding the offering together for the region.
“Asia is a dynamic region with central importance for the global economy,” comments Fredrik. “It will be exciting to continue developing and coordinating our operations in this part of the world. From my new base in Singapore, I will serve as a spokesperson for the region, be actively involved in advisory to clients, and complement the bank’s Asia research by sharing insights of the economy and business climate from the ground in Asia to the media and other interests in our home markets”.
SEB has also appointed new heads for the branches in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The new head in Shanghai will be Juliette Xue Lascoux. She has worked for SEB since 1995 in various roles in Stockholm, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Since 2015 she has been Head of Bank and Regional Management, SEB’s unit for global classification of counterparty risks.
SEB’s new head in Hong Kong will be Urban Josefsson. He has worked for SEB since 1990 in various senior positions in fixed income, FX and commodities trading as well as in Institutional Banking.