Swedish bank moves office, creates jobs

Jul 31 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

GROWTH in the North East operations of Swedish bank Handelsbanken has seen the team move to an office twice the size of its old home.

Handelsbanken has had a base on Grey Street in Newcastle city centre for six years, and has recently expanded its team from 11 to 14.

While moving into a larger office, Handlesbanken is staying close to home – moving within Earl Grey House but gaining more space. The new office is intended to provide space for future expansion and to accommodate an ambitious development strategy.

Branch manager Kevin Pattison said: “We have been strengthening our team for the last two years with the appointment of two senior corporate managers in 2007 and with this latest complement of staff, we are now well equipped to cater for the differing needs of our growing customer base.

“As an organisation, we are fortunate in the amount of individual discretion our managers are able to exercise and this is probably the most significant reason for our growing national reputation.

“It means that key lending decisions are made at branch level by local people who understand the marketplace and we enjoy very close, long-term relationships with our customers.”

The new arrivals at Handelsbanken are Simon Jones, returning to the bank as an individual banking manager after a two-year spell in insurance; Dave Elliott, also an individual banking manager, and Deb Young, as account manager support.