Board of the Estonian Central Register of Securities (CSD) approved the application of Handelsbanken to obtain the status of account administrator of the CSD. The Estonian CSD has a total of 10 registered account administrators, including two foreign account administrators.
Handelsbanken has primarily concentrated on universal banking services in the Nordic countries and in Great Britain. The range of offered services includes financial and traditional corporate banking services, as well as investment banking services in the field of trade and private banking.
The status of account administrator of the Estonian CSD allows Handelsbanken to offer its clients custody and trading in securities in the Baltic countries and therefore to expand its client base and diversify the service offered. Through this new service clients can benefit from Handelsbanken’s local knowledge in the market and from more competitive prices. Connections to the Estonian CSD will be handled via Handelsbanken Nordic Custody Services Finland offices with a cash clearing arrangement handled via Handelsbanken Estonian office. Further expansion to the Latvia and Lithuanian countries is in the process and will be finalised in the near future.
Handelsbanken opened its Estonian office on June 1st of this year. "Handelsbanken is enlarging its operation in terms of physical presence and business areas in Estonia and also in other Baltic states. Therefore becoming a member of Tallinn Stock Exchange and account administrator of Estonian CSD is in this process very important for us and our clients", says Harri Tuohimaa, Head of Handelsbanken in Estonia.
In the last 15 years, Handelsbanken has grown into a strong international bank, developing an extensive network of offices, offering banking services in 459 branch offices in the Nordic countries and in Great Britain. The balance sheet total of Handelsbanken as at June 30, 2007 was EUR 210 billion (EEK 3.286 trillion) and its operating profit was EUR 1.8 billion (EEK 28.4 billion). Handelsbanken was founded in 1871 and is the oldest of the companies listed on the Stockholm stock exchange.The Estonian CSD is the administrator of a joint electronic central register for securities in Estonia. The register keeps accounts of all public limited companies, securities and funded pension accounts in Estonia. The last company to obtain the status of account administrator of the CSD was Latvia’s biggest bank Parex Banka, in March 2005. A complete list of account administrators has been published at the address: https://www.e-register.ee/
