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Trends with: Philip Sheppard

by BSCC 13/12/2022 5834 Views

Philip has worked for Handelsbanken for almost 35 years, with much time spent in the UK. Philip held the position of Head of Private Banking – among other positions – in Handelsbanken’s London office. Philip is currently Senior Relationship Manager at Handelsbanken in Stockholm.

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What trends do you see within your line of business?

2022 has been a year of uncertainty in financial markets in a variety of ways with rising inflation, interest rates and energy costs along with domestic and geo-political tensions making short-term decision making especially challenging. Banks play a crucial role in providing stability during uncertain times so it is important that we stay close to our customers while at the same time continuing to invest in digital solutions to make our services even more accessible and relevant.

From your perspective, what are the greatest challenges right now?

A bank is only as strong as its customers so our focus is very much on supporting our existing customers as they navigate the current challenges and making sure that we remain a stable and long term partner.

And, opportunities?

History has shown that opportunities can arise in times of financial turbulence and we expect many of our customers to take advantage of these in the coming months and years. Handelsbanken has decided to leave certain markets and product areas in order to focus our resources on core markets where we believe that we can deliver the best service to our customers; the UK, alongside Sweden, Norway and Holland, remains a vital market and one where we plan to continue to grow. I was recently in London to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of our UK operations and in spite of Brexit, the pandemic and the looming recession, I was taken by the optimism and energy of my UK colleagues.