Founding as Stockholms Handelsbank branch of
Handelsbanken in
Turku,
Finland.Stockholms Handelsbank ("Stockholm Commerce Bank") was created in early 1871 by several large corporations and leading
Stockholm residents. Several of the initial owners had been active in
Stockholms enskilda bank, the forerunner of
SEB, which had opened in 1856 as the first private bank of
Stockholm, and left that bank in April 1871 after a conflict. Handelsbanken began operating 1 July 1871 in rented space in the commercial and financial district in the central Old Town. The bank's first year was quite successful and soon, it was one of the city's financial institutions, functioning as a bank for businesses and also as an issuer of bonds. In 1873, the shares in Handelsbanken were listed on the
Stockholm Stock Exchange.
1920–1945 Following the
post–World War I recession, Sweden experienced
deflation, which caused considerable problems for the financial sector. On 31 May 2023
S-Bank announced to acquire the Finnish private customer, asset management and investment services operations of Handelsbanken. == Subsidiaries and branches ==