Best bank - Svenska Handelsbanken
Best debt house - Citigroup
Best equity house - Enskilda Securities
Best M&A house - Goldman Sachs
Best at risk management & treasury - Deutsche Bank
Best at cash management - Nordea
Best at custody - SEB
The earnings of Nordic banks have been supported in the past year by lower loan-loss provisions than those made by western European peers. And the provisions made by Svenska Handelsbanken, which takes the best bank award, have been lower than those of other Nordic banks. Its provisions of SKr392 million ($50 million) equate to a loan-loss ratio of 0.05%, compared with a regional average of 0.19%. The bank also had a higher return on equity than its Nordic peers at 14.5% in 2002 and an operating profit of SKr10.2 billion.
Handelsbanken is also the most cost-efficient bank in the region, with a cost-to-income ratio of 47.2%. One analyst comments: "Handelsbanken has been very efficient and quite innovative." Total assets rose by 9% in 2002 to reach SKr1,278 billion at the year-end.
In addition to Handelsbanken's strength in Sweden it has a strong presence in other Nordic markets. In 2001 it completed the first stage of its regional expansion with the acquisition of Danish bank Midtbank.