SEB Group facts for kids
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SEB's corporate headquarters at Kungsträdgårdsgatan 8 in Stockholm
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| Publicly traded Aktiebolag | |
| Traded as | OMX: SEB A |
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| Industry | Financial services |
| Predecessor | Stockholms Enskilda Bank (established in 1856) Skandinaviska Banken (established in 1864) |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Stockholm, Sweden |
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Key people
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Johan Torgeby (President and CEO), Marcus Wallenberg (Chairman) |
| Products | Corporate and Institutional Banking Retail banking, wealth management, life insurance, pensions |
| Revenue | SEK 80.19 billion (2023) |
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Operating income
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SEK 47.96 billion (2023) |
| SEK 38.12 billion (2023) | |
| AUM | SEK 2.361 trillion (2022) |
| Total assets | SEK 3.608 trillion (2023) |
| Total equity | SEK 221.78 billion (2023) |
| Owner | Investor AB (21.32%) AMF Pension & Funds (5.04%) |
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Number of employees
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17,500 (FTE, end 2023) |
| Subsidiaries | SEB A/S (Denmark) SEB Pank (Estonia) |
| Footnotes / references Source: SEB's Annual and Sustainability Report 2023. https://sebgroup.com/annualreport |
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Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, often called SEB, is a big bank from Sweden. Its main office is in Stockholm. In Sweden and the Baltic countries, SEB offers many financial services. This means they help people and businesses with things like saving money, getting loans, and managing investments.
In other countries like Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, and the United Kingdom, SEB mainly helps large companies and financial groups. The bank was started in 1972 by the Wallenberg family from Sweden. This family is still SEB's biggest owner through their company, Investor AB. SEB is currently the largest bank in Sweden based on its market value and total assets.
The SEB Group started from two older banks: Stockholms Enskilda Bank (from 1856) and Skandinaviska Banken (from 1864). Both banks were very important in helping industries grow in Scandinavia, especially in Sweden, during the late 1800s and early 1900s. After growing a lot in the 20th century, these two banks joined together in 1972 to become the SEB Group.
SEB's banks in Germany and the Baltic countries are in the eurozone. Because of this, the European Central Bank directly supervises them. This started in late 2014 as part of European Banking Supervision rules.
Contents
History of SEB Bank
In 1972, two important Swedish banks merged to create SEB. These were Stockholms Enskilda Bank, started in 1856 by André Oscar Wallenberg, and Skandinaviska Banken, started in 1864. The main reason for joining forces was to create a stronger bank. This new bank could better serve large companies and compete with big international banks. Stockholms Enskilda Bank also claims to be the first bank in the world to hire women.
Stockholms Enskilda Bank was founded and managed by the Wallenberg family. This family has a long history in banking. The bank was a key part of their investments for many years. Even today, SEB is one of the most valuable companies owned by the Wallenbergs. They also own parts of other big companies like SKF, Atlas Copco, and Ericsson.
Skandinaviska Banken was first called Skandinaviska Kreditaktiebolaget. It was part of a movement to bring Scandinavian countries closer. André Oscar Wallenberg helped make sure this bank started in Gothenburg, Sweden, instead of Copenhagen, Denmark. Later, its main office moved to Stockholm. The bank grew across Scandinavia and the Nordic region before it merged in 1972.
In 1997, SEB bought an insurance company called Trygg-Hansa. In 1998, the bank changed its name and logo in Sweden from SE-Banken to SEB. Later that year, SEB bought shares in three banks in the Baltic countries: Eesti Ühispank in Estonia, Latvijas Unibanka in Latvia, and Vilniaus Bankas in Lithuania. This was the start of SEB's growth into the Baltic states, where it still has a large presence today.
In the early 2000s, SEB wanted to merge with Swedbank, another Swedish bank. However, the European Union did not allow this merger. In 2007 and 2008, SEB worked with the World Bank to create "green bonds." These are special bonds designed to help fund projects that protect the environment. Later, SEB sold its banking businesses in Germany and Ukraine because they were not making enough profit. The German business was sold to a Spanish bank called Banco Santander.
SEB also had a company called SEB Kort AB. This company managed Diners Club credit cards in the Nordic countries. However, they stopped this service on May 31, 2019. They said there was too much competition and new rules in the payment card market.
Where SEB Operates
SEB's most important market is its home country, Sweden. It is the biggest bank in Sweden, both in terms of its market value and all the money it manages. SEB also has many employees and customers in Sweden. About 17,500 people work for SEB, and around 4.5 million people are its customers.
Other major markets for SEB are the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Swedish banks are very popular in these countries. SEB is one of the largest banks there, competing with other big Swedish banks like Swedbank. The SEB Group also works in most other Nordic countries. It also has operations in larger foreign markets like Germany and the United Kingdom.
How SEB Works
In Sweden and the Baltic countries, SEB acts as a "universal bank." This means it offers many different financial services and advice to all kinds of customers. This includes individuals, small businesses, and large companies. In Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, and the United Kingdom, SEB mainly focuses on providing full services to large companies and financial groups.
SEB also has offices in more than 20 other places around the world. These include big cities like New York, London, Beijing, and Singapore.
SEB helps about 2,000 large companies and 1,100 financial groups. It also serves 400,000 small and medium-sized businesses and around 4 million individual people.
The company is organized into six main parts:
- Large Corporates & Financial Institutions
- Corporate & Private Customers
- Private Wealth Management & Family Office
- Baltic
- Life
- Asset Management
The Wallenberg family still owns and leads the SEB Group. Marcus Wallenberg is the chairman of the company's board. The Wallenberg family invests in SEB mainly through their company, Investor AB.
SEB and Sustainability
In 2004, SEB signed the UN Global Compact. This means they promised to follow important global rules and guidelines. These include the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. They also follow rules for responsible banking and investments, like the UNEP FI Principles for Responsible Banking.
SEB has created ten special rules for different industries. These include rules for farming, weapons, forests, fossil fuels, and gambling. They also have rules about the environment (like climate change and water) and human rights.
SEB helped create the "green bond" idea with the World Bank in 2007 and 2008. In 2014, they also helped set up the Green Bond Principles. These efforts show SEB's focus on helping to reduce climate change, which is a modern idea in Sweden.
In 2009, SEB published its first report on how it was doing with sustainability. Since 2017, this report has been part of their yearly report. Unlike some other big banks, SEB is usually not involved in arguments about its climate policies.
SEB Subsidiaries
- Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken A/S (Denmark)
- SEB Pank (Estonia)
- DSK Hyp (formerly SEB AG) (Germany)
- SEB banka (Latvia)
- SEB bankas (Lithuania)
- SEB Corporate Bank (Ukraine)
- SEB Bank (Russia)
- SEB SA (Luxembourg)
See also
In Spanish: Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken para niños
