Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken of Sweden is to launch an Internet banking operation in neighbouring Norway. The new bank is slated to open for business at the beginning of 2001.
SEB has conducted e-bank operations in Sweden since 1996 and also has e-banks in Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In total, SEB has 670,000 e-bank customers.
The e-bank in Norway follows the same European model, combining banking services with share and fund trading and advisory services. During the fourth quarter SEB will start an e-broker service in Germany and has plans to start an e-bank in the UK during the current year.
"By using a uniform e-bank model in Europe, we generate synergistic gains through the transfer of know-how, experience and services, all of which can be used throughout SEB e-banking's European organisation. This strengthens both the efficiency and the quality of our e-services," notes Lars Thunell, president and CEO of SEB.
The launch of e-banking operations in Norway will be implemented in several stages. A Website already exists at: www.seb.no. Customers will be able to use the site to transact business by early next year.