For nearly a century and a half, Sweden’s SEB was focused on serving corporates in its domestic market. In the past two decades, however, the bank's focus has spread outside of Sweden, into the Nordics and Germany. It now has branches in 17 countries, including Hong Kong, the UK, Singapore and the US, and, increasingly, the merchant banking division's total income is generated outside of the bank's home market.
To keep abreast with competition and the changing regulatory landscape, SEB has taken innovation to heart and set up an innovation lab. Lars Millberg, head of transaction banking at SEB's merchant banking division, says that the bank wants to encourage staff to devote time to brainstorming new ideas for products.