Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) is a North-European financial group for corporate customers, institutions and private individuals. Its activities comprise mainly banking services, but SEB also carries out significant life insurance operations. The bank was founded by and is controlled by the powerful Swedish family of Wallenberg through their investment-company Investor AB.
OverviewSEB serves more than 400,000 corporate customers and institutions and more than five million customers in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Germany, Poland, Russia and the Ukraine and strategic presence through its international network in another ten countries. More than half of SEB’s approximately 20,000 employees are located outside Sweden. On 31 December 2006, total assets amounted to SEK 1.934bn, while the Group’s assets under management totalled SEK 1,262bn. HistoryIn 1972, Stockholms Enskilda Bank (established 1856) and Skandinaviska Banken (established 1864) merged to form SEB. Reasons for the merger included creating a bank better positioned to serve corporate clients and to fend off competition from major international banks. However, the main reason for the merger was the socialistic economic politics that the, at the time, very left-orientated social democratic party forced on banks and private companies. Only a certain level of profit was allowed, and when Stockholms Enskilda Bank tried to expand, this action was forced back by the Swedish government. Thus the merger with Skandinaviska Banken which created opportunity to expand the bank. Subsidiaries
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