Handelsbanken will become a member of the OMX Nordic Exchange in Iceland as of
Wednesday, May 2. They will thereby gain trading access to the Icelandic equity
market.
Handelsbanken is already a member of the Nordic Exchange in Copenhagen,
Stockholm, and Helsinki. Handelsbanken is the first international player to
become a member of the Icelandic market since the Icelandic market merged with
OMX Nordic Exchange at the end of last year. Handelsbanken will thus become a
fully Nordic member.
”We warmly welcome Handelsbanken to the OMX Nordic Exchange in Iceland. The
Bank's extended membership is a clear indication that the OMX integration has
brought more visibility to the Icelandic market. Handelsbanken is the first
cross-member to add Iceland to its Nordic membership and we firmly believe
others will follow in the coming months. The Bank will be able to offer its
clients a range of new opportunities through its current access to the Nordic
Exchange”, says Thordur Fridjonsson, President OMX Nordic Exchange in Iceland.
Handelsbanken is an international bank established in 1871. In terms of lending
to the public, it is the largest bank in Sweden and the third largest bank in
the Nordic area. It has over 600 branches, operations in 20 countries, total
assets of SEK 1,790 billion and an operating profit for 2006 of SEK 17.2
billion. The Bank has around 10,000 employees and its ratings are as follows:
Moody's Aa1, S&P AA-, Fitch AA-. Its overall financial goal is to have a higher
return on shareholder's equity than a weighted average of comparable listed
Nordic banks. In 2006, Handelsbanken was the second largest player on the OMX
Nordic Exchange in Stockholm, and also second largest Nordic player on the
Nordic Exchange.
The Nordic Exchange has 160 members in 13 different countries. The company's
code in the trading system is SHB. The trading access is active as of today.
For more information, please contact:
Helga Björk Eiriksdottir, OMX Nordic Exchange in Iceland +354 525 2844 / 894
8888
About OMX | OMX is a leading expert in the exchange industry. Through the
Nordic Exchange, OMX offers access to approximately 80 percent of the Nordic
and Baltic securities market. The Nordic Exchange is a term used for marketing
purposes and is not a legal entity. It describes the common offering from the
Helsinki Stock Exchange, Copenhagen Stock Exchange, Stockholm Stock Exchange,
Iceland Stock Exchange, Tallinn Stock Exchange, Riga Stock Exchange and Vilnius
Stock Exchange. OMX integrated technology solutions cross the transaction chain
enabling efficient securities transactions for over 60 exchange organizations
in more than 50 countries. OMX is a Nordic Large Cap company in the Financial
sector on the OMX Nordic Exchange. For more information, please visit
www.omxgroup.com.
