Stockholms Enskilda Bank, sometimes called
Enskilda banken or
SEB, was a
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and water borders with Denmark, Germany and Poland to the south and Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia...
bank, founded in 1856 by André Oscar Wallenberg as Stockholm's first private
bankA bank is a financial intermediary that accepts deposits and channels those deposits into lending activities, either directly or through capital markets...
. In 1857, Stockholms Enskilda Bank began to employ women, claiming to be the first bank in the world of doing so.
Stockholms Enskilda Bank was managed by the
Wallenberg familyThe Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish family, renowned as bankers, industrialists, politicians, diplomats and philanthropists. The most famous of the Wallenbergs, Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat, worked in Budapest, Hungary, during World War II to rescue Jews from the Holocaust...
who, thanks to the bank, built a unique position in Swedish business. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945 which involved most of the world's nations, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Wallenberg bank was accused of collaborating with
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany, or the Third Reich, is the common name for the country of Germany while governed by Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist German Workers' Party from 1933 to 1945. Third Reich denotes the Nazi state as a historical successor to the medieval Holy Roman Empire and to the modern...
, putting the bank on blockade by the U.S. Government. In 1972, the bank merged with
Skandinaviska BankenSkandinaviska Banken, literally the Scandinavian Bank, was a Swedish bank founded in Gothenburg, 1864. Its foundation coincided with the political aspirations of the Scandinavian movement, which sought to unite Sweden, Norway and Denmark into a single kingdom...
to become
Skandinaviska Enskilda BankenSkandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB is a North-European financial group for corporate customers, institutions and private individuals with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Its activities comprise mainly banking services, but SEB also carries out significant life insurance operations and also owns...
.
History
From the beginning, Stockholms Enskilda Bank mainly issued credit to industry, and soon banker's drafts were introduced to simplify the conveyance of payments. Towards the end of the 1800s, Stockholms Enskilda Bank played an active role in industrial construction, both as a lender and as an initiator. The bank took over or participated in bond loans of over SEK 80 million to the state, municipalities, industry and railways.
In some areas the bank became a pioneer of the 1800s. In 1857, Stockholms Enskilda Bank claimed to be the first bank in the world to employ women and in 1892, pensions schemes were proposed for the bank's staff.
International recession
In the end of the 1920s, the international
recessionIn economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity over a period of time. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
spread over Europe, and things came to a head when
Ivar KreugerIvar Kreuger was a Swedish civil engineer, financier, entrepreneur and industrialist. In 1908 Kreuger co-founded the construction company Kreuger & Toll Byggnads AB which specialized in new building techniques. By aggressive investments and innovative financial instruments he built a global match...
died in
ParisParis is the capital and largest city of France. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in March 1932. Jacob Wallenberg was a member of the international Kreuger Committee, which was to look after the bondholders' interests.
Second World War
Before and during the Second World War the Swedish government called upon the bank's management for trade negotiations with
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
[In the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...]
, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D...
and
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe...
.
During the war, in 1939–1941, Stockholms Enskilda Bank acquired a number of subsidiaries within the German
BoschRobert Bosch GmbH is a technology-based corporation which was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart, Germany in 1886.Robert Bosch GmbH is the world's largest supplier of automobile components, and has business relationships with virtually every automobile company in the world. The headquarters of...
group. The acquisitions were made under the condition of Bosch being able to buy the property back after the war. A similar acquisition was made regarding the American Bosch Corporation. The
U.S. GovernmentFranklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
considered the acquisitions illegal and the American Bosch Corporation as enemy property, and subsequently confiscated it in 1943. In August 1945, the bank and the Wallenberg brothers were further accused for collaborating with the Nazis, making the
U.S. GovernmentHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
impose a
blockadeA blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
on Stockholms Enskilda Bank. The blockade was lifted in 1947.
Post war period
After the War, in 1946, the first
collective agreementCollective bargaining is a process between employers and employees to reach an agreement regarding the rights and duties of people at work. Collective bargaining aims to reach a collective agreement which usually sets out issues such as employees pay, working hours, training, health and safety, and...
for commercial bank employees was concluded, and in 1949 staff-management committees with representatives for management and employees were introduced. In 1953, Stockholms Enskilda Bank began using "bank buses" as ambulating branch branches, and the bank was modernized, including the introduction of
punched card machinesA punched card , is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions...
. Payment by wage cheque was introduced in 1956 and the bank began to cash other bank's cheques.
During the 1960s Stockholms Enskilda Bank became the bank for the industry to a greater extent. Loans to industry constituted half of the total loans of SEK 2,000 million. New branch offices were opened as part of the battle for domestic deposits. By the end of the 1960s the number of branches was 52.
Merger with Skandinaviska Banken
On 1 January 1972,
Skandinaviska BankenSkandinaviska Banken, literally the Scandinavian Bank, was a Swedish bank founded in Gothenburg, 1864. Its foundation coincided with the political aspirations of the Scandinavian movement, which sought to unite Sweden, Norway and Denmark into a single kingdom...
and Stockholms Enskilda Bank merged to form
Skandinaviska Enskilda BankenSkandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB is a North-European financial group for corporate customers, institutions and private individuals with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Its activities comprise mainly banking services, but SEB also carries out significant life insurance operations and also owns...
, with the aim of creating a bank which could meet the competition from the major international banks. The new bank had 6,730 employees, 393 branches, a well-established customer base and good relationships with many of Sweden's biggest companies.
However, the main reason for the merger was the socialistic economical politics that the, at the time, very left-orientated socialdemocratic 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 merge with Skandinaviska Banken which created room for an expanding the bank.
At the time of the merger, Skandinaviska Banken was about three times bigger than Stockholms Enskilda Bank and the Wallenberg family was notably divided whether the merger should take place. The plan had originally been initiated by chairman
Marcus Wallenberg (junior)The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish family, renowned as bankers, industrialists, politicians, diplomats and philanthropists. The most famous of the Wallenbergs, Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat, worked in Budapest, Hungary, during World War II to rescue Jews from the Holocaust...
whereas the former chairman of the bank, Jacob Wallenberg was a vocal opponent of the merger. This created some anxiety among the bank staff, and in November 1971, the CEO, Marc Wallenberg - who was one of the top negotiators of the merger - committed
suicideSuicide is the term used for the deliberate self-destruction of a human being, by causing their body to cease life function...
, leaving the Wallenberg family without a natural successor in the banking business.
Chairmen of the board
| Year | Chairmen of the board of SEB |
|---|
| 1856–1864 |
L J Lovén |
| 1864–1871 |
V Cramér |
| 1871–1874 |
W Vretman |
| 1875–1881 |
H Hamilton |
| 1881–1898 |
F Wretman |
| 1898–1911 |
Otto Printzsköld |
| 1911–1914 |
Knut Agathon Wallenberg |
| 1914–1917 |
Otto Printzsköld |
| 1917–1938 |
Knut Agathon Wallenberg |
| 1938–1943 |
Marcus Wallenberg sr |
| 1944–1946 |
Johannes Hellner |
| 1946–1950 |
R Ljunglöf |
| 1950–1969 |
Jacob Wallenberg |
| 1969–1971 |
Marcus Wallenberg |
Chief executives
| Year | Chief executives of SEB |
|---|
| 1856–1886 |
André Oscar Wallenberg |
| 1886–1911 |
Knut Agathon Wallenberg |
| 1911–1920 |
Marcus Wallenberg sr |
| 1920–1927 |
Joseph Nachmanson |
| 1927–1946 |
Jacob Wallenberg |
| 1946–1958 |
Marcus Wallenberg |
| 1958–1971 |
Marc Wallenberg jr |
| 1971 |
Hans Munck af Rosenschöld |