Stockholms Enskilda Bank

From the beginning, credit was mainly issued to industry, and banker's drafts were introduced to simplify the conveyance of payments. Towards the end of the 1800s, Stockholms Enskilda Bank played an active role in industrial construction, both as a lender and as an initiator. The bank took over or participated in bond loans of over SEK 80 million to the state, municipalities, industry and railways.

In some areas the bank became a pioneer of the 1800s. In 1857, Stockholms Enskilda Bank was the first bank in the world to employ women and in 1892, pensions schemes were proposed for the bank's staff.
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International recession

In the end of the 1920s, the international recession spread over Europe, and things came to a head when Ivar Kreuger died in Paris in March 1932. Jacob Wallenberg was a member of the international Kreuger Committee, which was to look after the bondholders' interests.
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Second World War

Before and during the Second World War the Swedish government called upon the bank's management for trade negotiations with Germany, United Kingdom, the United States and Finland.

During the war, in 1939–1941, Stockholms Enskilda Bank acquired a number of subsidiaries within the German Bosch group. The acquisitions were made under the condition of Bosch being able to buy the property back after the war. A similar acquisition was made regarding the American Bosch Corporation. The U.S. Government considered the acquisitions illegal and the American Bosch Corporation as enemy property, and subsequently confiscated it in 1943. In August 1945, the bank and the Wallenberg brothers were further accused for collaborating with the Nazis, making the U.S. Government impose a blockade on Stockholms Enskilda Bank. The blockade was lifted in 1947.
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Post war period

In 1946 the first collective agreement for commercial bank employees was concluded, and in 1949 staff-management committees with representatives for management and employees were introduced. In 1953, Stockholms Enskilda Bank began using "bank buses" as ambulating branch branches, and the bank was modernized, including the introduction of punch card machines. Payment by wage cheque was introduced in 1956 and the bank began to cash other bank's cheques.

During the 1960s Stockholms Enskilda Bank became the bank for the industry to a greater extent. Loans to industry constituted half of the total loans of SEK 2,000 million. New branch offices were opened as part of the battle for domestic deposits. By the end of the 1960s the number of branches was 52.
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Merger with Skandinaviska Banken

On 1 January 1972, Skandinaviska Banken and Stockholms Enskilda Bank merged to form Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, with the aim of creating a bank which could meet the competition from the major international banks. The new bank had 6,730 employees, 393 branches, a well-established customer base and good relationships with many of Sweden's biggest companies.

At the time of the merger, Skandinaviska Banken was about three times bigger than Stockholms Enskilda Bank and the Wallenberg family was notably divided whether the merger should take place. The plan had originally been initiated by chairman Marcus Wallenberg whereas the former chairman of the bank, Jacob Wallenberg was a vocal opponent of the merger. This created some anxiety among the bank staff, and in November 1971, the CEO, Marc Wallenberg - who was one of the top negotiators of the merger - committed suicide, leaving the Wallenberg family without a natural successor in the banking business.

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