Handelsbanken: worth a try?

tofu

The recent news reports about the Co-op bank's buy-out have reminded me that I meant to switch my banking to a company whose business model is more in line with my own values - now, sadly, it won't be the co-op bank, so I've been looking around for alternatives.

Since Handelsbanken highly rated on !!!!!!.uk, and they also have a branch in my home town, I've made an appointment with them, looking to open a current account. They don't publish their rates and fees online, but I am not expecting them to match my current bank pound for pound - I'm prepared to listen to a sensible offer. However, from the other information I've been finding online, I'm wondering if I fit their customer profile at all.

I work at the local University, am 30 years old, and make about £40k annually. I've never had any debt and I have about £70k in savings, some £30k of which is in cash (ISAs and savings account), and the rest is invested in funds, plus accrued pension benefits etc.

I think I'm financially fairly stable, but clearly not "high net worth". Threads like this suggest it's not even worth applying for someone making (much) less than £100k per annum. But then again, Handelsbanken has some 2 million customers, and 17% market share in its home market - presumably, these aren't all "high net worth", either?

Am I wasting my time applying? Or has anyone had success in similar circumstances?

InsideInsurance

In the UK all branches have their own criteria as they are almost run as separate businesses, I work near one and live between two others. Its been a while since I spoke to them but from memory they were roughly:

The one near work (central London) wanted a minimum £300k salary or £1m mortgage

One near home (south east) wanted £400m mortgage, £150k savings to be managed by them

The others was more "flexible" and would take on a younger professional who has the potential in the mid term to be getting up to those sorts of numbers with a min salary of £100k

I think you'll find they aim at the top X% of the local market and adjust levels as appropriate for their location.

Fees were something like £25-30 a month for a current account with either a debit card or chargecard. There were no perks such as free travel insurance or airport lounge access etc.

Interest rates were low, they advise they are individually negotiated but openly said you'll always get much better elsewhere. They also wanted the complete deal, they didnt like the idea of you just using them for the current account and then using others for savings/ investment.

Personally, I didnt find they could sell the service to me but if I'm honest, I am less bothered about the ethical aspect and I dont have borrowing needs which was a big part of their sales pitch

System

I applied for an account with them last year and I really wasn't happy with what I'd be getting. They cherry-pick customers and then crow about how successful they are. They went through my bank statements and picked up on one small glitch where there was a bank error resulting in a charge and a subsequent refund. They didn't like that one little bit. It was suggested I could have a current account but with no overdraft facilities.

I didn't like their attitude - I felt they would be watching everything I spent money on and I realised I actually enjoy the relative anonymity of a more mainstream bank.

IMO I had a lucky escape, lol. Handelsbanken comes over as rather arrogant and made me feel I should be privileged to be a customer of theirs.

AFAIK any charges for running the account are down to the local branch, as are the eligibility criteria.

System

I don't know what the big thing about Handelsbanken is - they are just one of the big Swedish banks.

It's kinda like Lloyds opening a few branches in Sweden and suddently becoming an ethical bank in Sweden.

Or am I missing something..?!

Thrugelmir

Heng_Leng wrote: »

It's kinda like Lloyds opening a few branches in Sweden and suddently becoming an ethical bank in Sweden.

Nothing ethical . More good old fashioned banking. Been a shareholder for a long time. Most certainly profit driven not charitable.

rb10

tofu wrote: »

The recent news reports about the Co-op bank's buy-out have reminded me that I meant to switch my banking to a company whose business model is more in line with my own values - now, sadly, it won't be the co-op bank, so I've been looking around for alternatives.

Depending on exactly what 'your own values' are, this probably means you're looking at a building society.

You can get bank accounts from Nationwide, Norwich & Peterborough, Coventry or Cumberland.

JuicyJesus

Heng_Leng wrote: »

I don't know what the big thing about Handelsbanken is - they are just one of the big Swedish banks.

It's kinda like Lloyds opening a few branches in Sweden and suddently becoming an ethical bank in Sweden.

Or am I missing something..?!

Absolutely nothing whatsoever.

SammenForLivet2

JuicyJesus wrote: »

Absolutely nothing whatsoever.

The only thing that is different is there not HQ driven. The branch and it's manager have the final decision to lend (anything under <£1-3m) and who they open the accounts for.

The branch has far greater power over lending, and setting of interest rates and not a distant department.

This said, I don't bank with them - so can't comment on the service from that view.

Archi_Bald

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Nothing ethical . More good old fashioned banking. Been a shareholder for a long time. Most certainly profit driven not charitable.

Emphasis on old fashioned - - - anything and everything I hear or read about Handelsbanken reminds me of banking with Natwest in the 1980s.

I have no personal experience with Handelsbanken, but any banking from the pre-internet age doesn't figure particularly high on my list of favourites.

They might also disqualify me as a customer on the grounds that I don't want a mortgage of x hundreds of thousands of pounds, or other loan with them. That's perfectly fine, because I wouldn't want any credit from them (or other bank). If I did have a requirement for credit, they would be last on my list of people to ask. Actually, may be second last before Wonga.

Never the twain shall meet, lol.

slass78

Hi, a vote here for them!
I am a very satisfied Handelsbanken customer, definitely not high earning but absolutely over the moon with the service we get from them. In 2010 we were looking for a self build mortgage and were told by most banks who offered them that we didn't fulfil their criteria. Our mortgage broker introduced us to Handelsbanken, and they had the freedom to create exactly the mortgage we wanted, reasonable rates, but with one to one service that you just don't get any more.
We are now in our new house, and this summer re did the mortgage with them, (again a bespoke mortgage but different from what we needed whilst we were building), and now have all our current/savings accounts with them. If I ring the branch, I know the person who answers will be one of the four people who work there, all of whose names I know. If I need to make an online transfer thats over a daily limit I can phone and they'll take the limit off. If I want to withdraw £3000 cash at a cash machine for a big purchase, I can ring the branch and they'll remove the limit until I've done it. If I'm at a cash machine and it takes my card, I can ring them and they can find a way of sorting it out. Just lots of things that you don't get from banks these days - you get foreign call centres, a 'computer says no' approach, and frustration when things go wrong. I can honestly say that they are really good to deal with and I'd have no hesitation recommending my local branch. Obviously can't say if they're all the same but all good here!

Archi_Bald

slass78. many people will be very pleased to hear you had such an incredibly positive experience with a bank.

I personally would consider the bank you are working for if dozens of customers had recommended them for a couple of years or more.