Swedbank Estonia

It's Friday, Friday. (Fun, fun, fun, fun. Lookin' forward to the weekend) There is a new saying in our organization and it goes something like this – "The we in Swedbank". Nice. But who are the "we" in WE, is what I’m wondering. So I looked around the office and found Laura who is the Learning and Development Expert here at Swedbank Academy. A colleague as the saying generally goes for people of the same organization. I know her a little, like she DJs from time to time and I think she is from Saaremaa (an island) but that's about it. Let's change that. Also, I’m Kristjan. Kristjan: Do you consider yourself cool? Laura: I don’t think like that, but yes. You? Kristjan: No, but yes. Laura: What's the last song you added to your playlist? Kristjan: I will give you one if you give me one https://lnkd.in/dK8P_kdD  Laura: Mine is a mixtape https://lnkd.in/dAStzFUT  Kristjan: I know you are from Saaremaa, do you feel weird when you are on mainland? Laura: I don’t think like that, but yes. Where are you from? Kristjan: Lasnamäe. Laura: What's that? Kristjan: Wait…what? It’s the largest suburb… Laura: Dude, I know what Lasnamäe is. Kristjan: You DJ from time to time? Laura: Yes. Do you like to cook? Because I don’t and if you do what's your fav dish? Kristjan: I think I like to cook, but I like to do it in a good kitchen which I don’t have. I like to make anything that has cabbage in it. Laura: Why? Kristjan: I don’t know. Laura: I hate cabbage. Kristjan: Why? Laura: I don’t know. Do you play video games? Kristjan: I do play video games. Do you do something that you also did when you were a kid? Laura: Mmm... Like bite my nails? Kristjan: For example yes. Laura: No. Kristjan: Nothing? Laura: I listen to music. Kristjan: Bff.. Okei nice save. Laura: It’s Friday do you have weekend plans? Kristjan: Not really. I think I'm exhausted so want to sleep alot. You? Laura: I’m going to Saaremaa. Kristjan: Well good for you. I guess I’ll see you on Monday. Laura: Yes. Get some sleep man. Kristjan: I will man. Thankyou.

Rõõmustame, et Eesti suurimal ja vanimal ettevõtluskonkursil "Eesti parimad ettevõtted 2024" tunnustati Swedbanki tänavu lausa kahe tiitliga: aasta konkurentsivõimelisim teenindusettevõte ning aasta konkurentsivõimelisim finantsvahendusettevõte! Oleme aastate jooksul palju panustanud sellesse, et meie klienditeenindus oleks suurepärane ning klientidel meie juures lihtne oma rahaasju ajada. Rõõmustame, et seda on märgatud ning pingutame edaspidigi selle nimel, et panga teenindus oleks laitmatu ja sujuv. Loe lähemalt artiklist ja vaata ka videot 👇 Eesti parimate ettevõtete tunnustamisüritust korraldavad Ettevõtluse ja Innovatsiooni Sihtasutus, Eesti Kaubandus-Tööstuskoda ja Eesti Tööandjate Keskliit. 

On November 1st young ethical hackers gathered in Tartu for the Telia Cyber Battle of Nordic-Baltics and CyberSpike final event. 🫶 As Swedbank Estonia feels strongly about cyber security and we see the need for young specialists in that field, we sponsored the event this year. It was great to see the room filled with young people with high potential to work in banking or other sectors in the future where knowledge and skills about cyber security are very much needed.🌱 Thank you CTF Tech, Telia, Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Estonia, CR14, and other partners for organizing the event. 👏👏 📷 Andrei Ozdoba

DIGIT x SWEDBANK x SEMUBOT #TBT was yesterday, but a small nostalgic post on Friday won't hurt anyone ☺️ The Digit Conference and our side event on robotics in cooperation with SemuBot MTÜ and Institute of Technology @ University of Tartu may be long over, but we are still lingering on positive emotions from all the inspiring talks, networking opportunities, and the buzz. Have a sneak peek at both events by browsing through the gallery below 👇 📷 Pilleriin Kivisikk, Silver Gutmann/Aparaator A big thank you to the organisers, partners, our speakers, moderators, in-house project team, volunteers and many more who contributed to the events. And a special thanks to all who joined us! 🧡

Exciting Partnership News: Our Newest Financing Venture We signed a financing agreement with DefSeclntel to help an Estonian company developing smart monitoring and situational awareness systems to achieve their goals. DefSecIntel Solutions OÜ’s systems are used in national defense, border security, and critical infrastructure monitoring. The company aims to expand its customer base and market reach, with plans to quadruple its turnover from the current €30 million over the coming years. Our €5 million financing is intended to support working capital, enabling the company to service existing international contracts and expand its business. "We are delighted to contribute to the efforts of a team of field professionals working to create a safer world and develop AI-based defense systems," said Mihkel Utt, Head of Swedbank’s Mid-Corporate Department. Read more here (the article is in Estonian) 👇

We will organise Balanced Economy Forum “Elephant in the Room” alongside Rohetiiger and Äripäev on 17 November 2023 at Tallinn Creative Hub. The event welcomes all who understand that an economic model that relies on endless growth and inexhaustible resources is utterly outdated. Our planet, climate, and the nature simply cannot take it. We may recognise there’s an elephant in the room but instead of resolving problems head-on, we tend to bury our heads in the sand. At times of economic downturn, some business owners blame their difficulties on environmental standards. They fail to see that the transition to green economy also brings new business opportunities. The forum “Elephant in the Room” aims to inspire drivers of change in Estonia to implement new economic models. Our time perspective is 15 years: we will share suggestions on what might be successful economic models in 2040. Secondly, we aim to show that the green transition is also a major business opportunity. This time, the forum features experts from several international organisations, such as OECD and European Commission, as well as consultants from KPMG and McKinsey advisory agencies. Our Chair of the Board, Olavi Lepp will also join the panel discussion “Which business projects get funding by 2040”. And Mihkel Utt, our Head of the Mid-Corporate Department, will share his opinion in a discussion round on the competitiveness of the Estonian economy in 2040. 📆 See the full programme and presenters 👉 https://lnkd.in/d3jVBf9B Tõnu Mertsina, Our Chief Economist, wrote a forward-looking article where he discusses the changes Estonia will experience due to meeting climate targets and transitioning to a greener economy, and our economic outlook in 15 years. Read the article (in Estonian) 👉 https://lnkd.in/dYf68Gd3

This week, we launched the TalTech and University of Tartu lecturers trainee program at Swedbank Estonia . The first day covered a variety of banking topics, including people, and culture, led by me. During my session, one of the lecturers had to step out of the room. Later, she approached me to apologize for missing part of the presentation, particularly the section on diversity. Ironically, she didn’t miss much—because I had only briefly mentioned it in a single sentence. This made me realize just how integrated the concept of diversity has become for us. It’s no longer something we feel the need to highlight in every presentation—it’s simply a part of who we are. DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) remains a top priority for us now and in the future, but it’s so embedded in our everyday operations that we often treat it as business as usual. I hope they enjoy the banking journey! 👏👇

To be (in the office) or not to be (in the office)? Right off the cuff, I’m in - in the office, I mean. Not because I like it more or "it’s just who I am, man," but because I’m lazy. When the pandemic hit four years ago and we went remote, I felt if I did it, I would probably get soft and start doing less and then figure out how to do even less. So, I stayed. We still believe in the hybrid model here at Swedbank, and it shows. I don’t have any data to back me up, but I'm going with the Amazon CEO way and calling it a "gut feeling" that half of our employees also believe in the hybrid model. You can see the empty desks and, in some cases, whole floors even. But usually when I’ve already given up on seeing someone in the office again, they will pop up from time to time and spend a day here. I do miss the days where I could just write to someone about an idea I needed help with and know that if they said OK, we could probably do it in 10-15 minutes because they were in. It was very convenient for me, but what about them? We have 300 different positions in the bank and not all of them are "let’s collaborate on this matter" positions. Do people in accounting need to commute every day just to be in the office? I have a dog now and life got 200% more annoying because I had to plan my days around his schedule. Imagine adding some children into the mix along with your hobbies. And now make your day 2-3 hours shorter (because of the commute)—feels like constant stress for no reason. I feel like this might be the moment to rethink what we expect from people when we hire them and what we expect from managers when we promote them. If we do it now, all of this becomes just an efficiency equation you can resolve by… solving it. Because we have a reasonable amount of people at the bank who can't do hybrid work e.g. people who work with our customers in branches: receptionists, assistants, consultants and many more. There is no equation where hybrid work is a variable somewhere in there; nor should there be one where it is by default. But also, I could be wrong—„it’s just like my opinion, man.“ This is Kristjan (Creative Manager at Swedbank) signing off from a very old office building here in Tallinn where ceilings are low and ventilation systems don’t work from time to time. Also, also. We are moving to a new HQ sometime next year. I will do an update post on how the modern work environment affects occupancy in a modern world (maybe even garnish it with some statistical data) 🙂 .

Tasuta konsultatsioon ettevõtlusega alustajale 🧑💻 Raamatupidamine? Majandusaasta aruanne? Maksud? Ettevõtlusteekonna alguses on need teemad kindlasti peast läbi käinud ja mõnel juhul ehk isegi peavalu tekitanud.   Kui tahaksid kellegagi nõu pidada, kuidas kõik kenasti klappima saada või elu esimest majandusaasta aruannet koostada, kasuta julgelt eripakkumist: 1 tund tausta konsultatsiooni meie partnerilt CH Konsultatsioonid. Loe lähemalt 👉 https://lnkd.in/dquYN6zi

📣 Tagasi Kooli otsib uut tegevjuhti 📣 Tagasi Kooli otsib visioonikat ja tegusat juhti, kes tahab panustada sellesse, et eluoskuste õpetamine oleks koolides kvaliteetne ja süsteemne. Kas oled see Sina? Või tead kedagi, kellel see võimalus silmad särama paneb? Kandideerimise kohta leiad rohkem infot siit 👉 https://lnkd.in/dqTwi6pQ . See võib olla Su unistuste töö, kui soovid panustada Eesti haridusse ja innovatsiooni ning Sind sütitab mõte toetada õpilaste eluoskuste arengut. Hetkel on tegevjuhi fookuses Tagasi Kooli e-tundide viimine koolidesse ja õpilasteni. Vastavalt võimalustele ja vajadustele saad edaspidi arendada ka teisi lahendusi, mis toetavad organisatsiooni missiooni edukat elluviimist. Swedbank on Tagasi Kooli MTÜ strateegiline partner ja kaasasutaja. Tagasi Kooli on ka swedpankureid innustanud külalistunde andma minema ja nii oleme kogu pangas algatuse fännid!🫶🙌