The bank revealed it is also withdrawing from Denmark. Finland and Denmark together, it said, have accounted for roughly 10 per cent of its revenue, 13 per cent of its costs and eight per cent of its operating profit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision is founded on a strategic evaluation of the group and strategic decisions. They\u2019ve considered the size of different geographies and the synergies of international operations,\u201d Hanne Katrama<\/strong>, the managing director of Handelsbanken Finland, stated<\/a> to Helsingin Sanomat. \u201cIt was decided that the group will focus on Sweden, Norway and England and pull out from Finland and Denmark.\u201d<\/p>\n News of the withdrawal came as an utter surprise for the chief shop steward of Handelsbanken in Finland, Kati Ahl<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve believed firmly that the bank would continue its operations in Finland, so the decision isn\u2019t what we were expecting,\u201d she commented to the newspaper. \u201cThis is frankly something I couldn\u2019t have even imagined. But I suppose you\u2019ll never know what the group will decide.\u201d<\/p>\n Ahl also questioned the timing of the announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no idea why this had to be announced in the evening instead of the next workday. I don\u2019t know how many will have received word of this before reading about this in the newspaper,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n Handelsbanken on Tuesday said the decision will have no immediate effects on either its operations or staff in Finland. \u201cOur customer services and new account sales will continue unchanged, and the sales process that\u2019s about to be launched will have no impact on our customers. The objective is that the customers don\u2019t notice any changes,\u201d said Katrama.<\/p>\n She declined to speculate on the buyer candidates but gauged that there should be plenty of interest in what is a \u201cstable and profitable\u201d business.<\/p>\n