20 08 Annual report Highlights of 2008 t0QFSBUJOHQSPmUTHSFXCZQFSDFOUUP4&,CJMMJPO t3FUVSOPOFRVJUZGPSDPOUJOVJOHPQFSBUJPOTXBTQFSDFOU t/FUJOUFSFTUJODPNFSPTFCZQFSDFOUUP4&,CJMMJPO t5IFBWFSBHFWPMVNFPGMPBOTJODSFBTFECZQFSDFOUBOEIPVTFIPME EFQPTJUTSPTFCZQFSDFOU t5IFCPBSEQSPQPTFTBOPSEJOBSZEJWJEFOEPG4&,QFSTIBSF t5IF#BOLIBEBQQSPYJNBUFMZ FNQMPZFFT t)BOEFMTCBOLFOIBEUIFNPTUTBUJTmFEDVTUPNFSTJOUIF/PSEJD DPVOUSJFTBDDPSEJOHUPUIF4,*&14*TVSWFZT FINANCIAL INFORMATION Notice of attendance Handelsbanken’s annual reports, annual reviews and Shareholders wishing to attend the AGM must: interim reports can be ordered from Handelsbanken’s website: t CFFOUFSFEJOUIFSFHJTUFSPGTIBSFIPMEFSTLFQUCZ www.handelsbanken.se/ireng. Euroclear Sweden AB (previously VPC AB) by Thursday, 23 April 2009. IMPORTANT DATES 2009 tHJWFOPUJDFPGUIFJSBUUFOEBODFUP 28 April Interim report January – March 2009 Board Office, Handelsbanken, Kungsträdgårdsgatan 2, 29 April Annual general meeting SE-106 70 Stockholm, Sweden, phone +46 8 701 19 84, 21 July Interim report January – June 2009 or online at www.handelsbanken.se/bolagsstamma at 28 October Interim report January – September 2009 the latest by 3 p.m. on Thursday, 23 April 2009. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING To be entitled to take part in the AGM, any shareholders Place: Grand Hôtel, Vinterträdgården, whose shares are nominee-registered must also request a tem- Royal entrance, Stallgatan 4, Stockholm. porary entry in the register of shareholders kept by Euroclear. Date: Wednesday, 29 April 2009, 10 a.m. Shareholders must notify the nominee about this well before 23 April 2009, when this entry must have been effected. Dividend The board proposes that the record day for the dividend be Tuesday, 5 May 2009. If the AGM votes in favour of the proposal, Euroclear expects to send the dividend to shareholders on Friday, 8 May 2009. Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) Corporate identity number: 502007-7862 Registered office: Stockholm www.handelsbanken.com This annual report is also available in Swedish. Contents 1BHF 5IFHSPVQDIJFGFYFDVUJWFTDPNNFOUT 2 $PODFQU XPSLJOHNFUIPETBOEPSHBOJTBUJPO 5 (PBMT NFUIPETBOEPVUDPNFT 7 Strength and stability 8 Markets CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Handelsbanken in the community &UIJDBMTUBOEBSETBOEDPSQPSBUFTPDJBMSFTQPOTJCJMJUZ 4BUJTmFEDVTUPNFSToZFBSBGUFSZFBS ADMINISTRATION REPORT Review of operations &NQMPZFFT4IBSFEWBMVFTQSPEVDFSFTVMUT &OWJSPONFOUBMSFTQPOTJCJMJUZ 'JWFZFBSPWFSWJFXo(SPVQ 'JWFZFBSPWFSWJFXo1BSFOUDPNQBOZ ,FZmHVSFTQFSZFBS 20 Quarterly performance Share and shareholders 22 Business segments #SBODIPGmDFPQFSBUJPOTJO4XFEFO 25 #SBODIPGmDFPQFSBUJPOTPVUTJEF4XFEFO 27 Handelsbanken Capital Markets Handelsbanken Asset Management FINANCIAL REPORTS $POUFOUTo(SPVQmOBODJBMSFQPSUT *ODPNFTUBUFNFOUo(SPVQ #BMBODFTIFFUo(SPVQ 4UBUFNFOUPGDIBOHFTJOTIBSFIPMEFSTFRVJUZo(SPVQ $BTInPXTUBUFNFOUo(SPVQ /PUFTo(SPVQ $POUFOUTo1BSFOUDPNQBOZ *ODome statement and balance TIFFUBOEOPUFTo1BSFOUDPNQBOZ Recommendation for appropriation PGQSPmUTBOETUBUFNFOUGSPNUIFCPBSE OTHER INFORMATION Audit report Contents Corporate Governance Corporate governance report* Corporate governance structure The board Senior management Branches and branch managers Addresses %FmOJUJPOTBOEFYQMBOBUJPOT *The corporate governance report is not part of the statutory annual report. HANDELSBANKEN O ANNUAL REPORT 2008 1 THE GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S COMMENTS “Confidence and respect” t 'PS)BOEFMTCBOLFO XBTDIBSBDUFSJTFECZBTJHOJmDBOUOVNCFSPGOFXDVTUPNFST TUSPOHEFNBOE GPSPVSTFSWJDFT CVUBMTPBHSPXJOHmOBODJBMDSJTJTBOEUIFCFHJOOJOHTPGBSFDFTTJPO t 5IFOVNCFSPGDPSQPSBUFDVTUPNFSTJO)BOEFMTCBOLFOSPTFCZNPSFUIBO BOEBUUIFFOEPG XFIBE NPSFQSJWBUFJOEJWJEVBMTBTDVTUPNFSTUIBOBUUIFCFHJOOJOHPGUIFZFBS t $SFEJUEFNBOEXBTIJHIBOEMFOEJOHHSFXCZBUPUBMPGQFSDFOU-FOEJOHUPDPNQBOJFTSPTFCZQFSDFOU BOEJOUIFmOBMRVBSUFS )BOEFMTCBOLFOBDDPVOUFEGPSNPSFUIBOIBMGPGBMMOFXMPBOTUP4XFEJTIDPNQBOJFT t %FQPTJUTSPTFCZBUPUBMPGQFSDFOU0OUIFQSJWBUFNBSLFU EFQPTJUTSPTFCZQFSDFOU XIJDIPOBOBOOVBM CBTJTJTPOFPGUIFMBSHFTUJODSFBTFTJOUIF#BOLTSFDFOUIJTUPSZ t )BOEFMTCBOLFOTJODSFBTFEBDUJWJUZJOJOUFSOBUJPOBMDBQJUBMNBSLFUT TUBSUJOHJO NBEFJUQPTTJCMFUPGVOE FYJTUJOHBOEOFXMFOEJOH%FTQJUFBSFMBUJWFMZTVCTUBOUJBMWPMVNFPGOFXMFOEJOH UIF#BOLTMJRVJEJUZSFTFSWFT BSFTVCTUBOUJBMBOEBUUIFFOEPGUIFZFBSBNPVOUFEUP4&,CJMMJPO BWBJMBCMFXJUIJOIPVST t 0VS5JFSDBQJUBMHSFXCZ4&,CJMMJPOEVSJOHUIFZFBS t 0OFDPOTFRVFODFPGUIFCFHJOOJOHTPGBSFDFTTJPOXBTBOJODSFBTFJOMPBOMPTTFT CVUUIFTFXFSFPGGTFU CZSJTJOHFBSOJOHT QBSUMZSFTVMUJOHGSPNUIFIFBWZJOnPXPGOFXDVTUPNFST t )BOEFMTCBOLFOTSFUVSOPOFRVJUZGPSXBTQFSDFOU0QFSBUJOHQSPmUTHSFXZFBSPOZFBS GSPN 4&,CJMMJPOUP4&,CJMMJPO t 5IFTFSFTVMUTNFBOUIBU GPSUIFUIZFBSSVOOJOH UIF#BOLBDIJFWFEJUTDPSQPSBUFHPBMPGBIJHIFSSFUVSO POFRVJUZUIBOUIFBWFSBHFGPSPVSDPNQFUJUPST Behind these key figures there are many numbers, all of them largely due to the fact that during the autumn we acquired new meticulously reported in detail further on in this report. But customers to an extent we have seldom experienced before. the key figures don’t explain everything – there are two vital key Such a substantial rise in business volumes in the midst of an words underlying Handelsbanken’s results: confidence and respect. economic downturn and increasing financial turbulence can be Good banking operations demand confidence and respect – the seen as an expression of the confidence the world around has in confidence of customers, lenders and the public authorities, and Handelsbanken. respect for risk, particularly credit and liquidity risk. IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY AND AVAILABILITY RISING DEMAND To meet this greater demand from our customers – while keep- One difference between key figures and key words is that a key ing our costs in check – we have continued our work to boost word like confidence is much more difficult to quantify and to productivity. Since its launch in 2006, the programme to improve assign an exact value. But one way of obtaining a picture of the productivity has increased the time available to meet customers by confidence Handelsbanken enjoys and how it is developing is to 40 percent. But we believe that there is great potential for further look at how much our customers want to do business with us. rises in productivity. In 2008, our lending grew by a total of 15 percent. New One way to increase availability for our customers is to con- lending and credit commitments totalled SEK 118.7 billion in stantly try to expand the opportunities of doing business outside the second half of the year. Overall, the growth in credit-related office hours, partly via our online services but also via our phone products at Handelsbanken has never been as high as it was in service Handelsbanken Direct, which is staffed around the clock 2008. by experienced banking employees led by a branch manager. Our Deposits also increased during “This increase is aim here is that customers should be able to discuss and carry the year and our market share largely because we out advanced banking transactions with expert help, even when for Swedish household deposits their own branch is closed. was 17.7 percent at year-end – an BDRVJSFEOFXDVT- increase of 1.7 percentage points. UPNFSTUPBOFYUFOU MORE SATISFIED CUSTOMERS The increase can be explained by we have seldom If higher business volumes are one method of measuring the factors such as new products and confidence of the world around in the Bank, satisfied customers increased availability, but it is also FYQFSJFODFECFGPSFw may be another. Every year, the Swedish Quality Index (SKI) and 2 HANDELSBANKEN O ANNUAL REPORT 2008 THE GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S COMMENTS EPSI carry out an extensive survey of customer satisfaction in all the Nordic countries. The impartial survey institutes arrive at a customer satisfaction index by asking banking customers how they perceive the quality of service and products and how loyal and sat- isfied they are with their bank. SKI/EPSI have been carrying out these surveys since 1989. Every year since then, Handelsbanken has had the highest level of customer satisfaction of the major financial corporations in all the Nordic countries. The fundamental principle is that our specialists in central busi- In turbulent times, when stock markets and the economy are ness areas – in collaboration with our branches – repackage their slumping, customers’ confidence in their banks usually declines advanced services into slightly simpler, more standardised solu- too. However, Handelsbanken’s customer satisfaction index, tions which can then be offered to broader customer groups, among both private and corporate customers, rose in 2008. where the business potential is often substantial. The earnings generated in institutional business are consider- A DECENTRALISED UNIVERSAL BANK able, but it isn’t until this expertise is offered to customers via I believe that one way of retaining and hopefully also increasing our branches that major shareholder value arises. customer confidence is a consistent method of banking. This approach applies not only to business areas which focus Since it started in 1871, Handelsbanken has been run as a on securities, but also to business transactions where the treas- universal bank. We aim to always satisfy our customers’ require- ury departments of major corporations are the natural counter- ments for financial services, regardless of their stage of life in the party. case of private individuals, or the business climate in the case of To achieve success, the investment bank and asset management corporate customers. operations must be number one in their respective markets. We have chosen a decentralised way of