Handelsbanken Finans started up in Poland

Handelsbanken Finans started operations in Poland. Handelsbanken already has branches in Warsaw and in Gdańsk (opened in June) and will soon open a branch in Poznań. So, now the Polish operations include finance company services, too.

 “An increasing number of our Nordic and British corporate customers are starting business in Poland. The demand and need for leasing as a source of financing has therefore increased among our customers. So we are very happy to be able to take the next step in our Polish expansion by offering our customers a leasing product,” says Mikael Sörensen, head of Handelsbanken’s Polish operations.

This Polish leasing market has expanded substantially in recent years. Last year it grew by 30 percent and all the signs are that this high rate of growth will continue. In an economy as expansive as the Polish one, leasing has become increasingly important as a source of financing. The proportion of the total capital expenditure market which is financed via leasing has grown from 11% in 2004 to 14.5% in 2005.
 “Leasing is an excellent product for financing investments in movable property,” says Jennie Brandt, local representative for Handelsbanken Finans in Poland.

Handelsbanken Finans is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Handelsbanken and one of the leading finance companies in the Nordic countries. Handelsbanken Finans offers a full range of local finance company services via Handelsbanken’s 587 branches in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Great Britain.

About Handelsbanken

Svenska Handelsbanken is one of the leading banks in the Nordic region with total assets of EUR 180 billion and profits of EUR 1.6 billion in 2005. The Bank has approximately 10 000 employees.

Handelsbanken is a universal bank offering a complete range of financial services such as traditional banking services to private and corporate customers, financing, investment banking, cash management, asset management, trading, investments in the equity, money and fund market as well as life insurance.

The Bank has 586 branches in the Nordic countries and Great Britain as well as activities in another 15 countries. The Bank has been present in Poland since 1997.