The gender pay gap statistics for Handelsbanken as at the snapshot date were as follows:

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1 The Statistics The gender pay gap statistics for Handelsbanken as at the snapshot date were as follows: The difference in mean (average) hourly rate of pay between males/females = 37.5% The difference in median (the midpoint) hourly rate of pay between males/females = 42.9% The number of males/females in each quartile of the pay range Quartile Description Female Male Female Male Upper Quartile % 89% Upper Middle % 69% Lower Middle % 42% Lower Quartile % 35% Total Headcount % 59% The difference in mean (average) bonus pay between males/females = Handelsbanken does not have any reportable statistics for this metric The proportion of male and female employees who received a bonus = Handelsbanken does not have any reportable statistics for this metric Further Analysis of the Results But the overall statistics do not tell the whole story. Therefore, to gain a better understanding of the issues, Handelsbanken performed detailed analysis of the four main roles across its branch network and split all other roles into managerial and non-managerial categories. These six employee categories were further analysed according to whether they were regional or head office roles. Finally, it also analysed all of the above employee categories based on a start date earlier than 1 January This helped to determine the extent to which its expansion plans affected the gender mix and pay levels of its employee population. The detailed analysis identified the following themes: 1. Whilst the pay levels of men are generally higher, further analysis of individual pay levels indicates that there is a structural issue at Handelsbanken, which means: a. more men are employed in senior and more higher paid roles; b. Handelsbanken does not have an equal pay issue (in other words, men and women are paid equally for the same, or similar, roles and experience). 2. Senior roles are dominated by men in all regions, as well as in the London and Manchester head offices. 3. The gender pay gap was higher for employees hired prior to 1 January 2012 (but there was not an equal pay issue amongst this group of employees). 4. A higher proportion of male employees were hired prior to 1 January 2012 (63%) versus all those employed on the snapshot date (where 59% were male).

2 A History of Handelsbanken in the UK At the beginning of the 1980s, Handelsbanken started banking operations in the UK. In 1989, the branch in London was complemented with a representative branch in Manchester, and a third branch was opened in Birmingham in Initially, operations focused on Nordic-related corporate business but in the autumn of 1999, Handelsbanken decided to extend its operations and offer individual and corporate customers in the UK a full range of banking services. Handelsbanken s fourth UK branch was opened in October 2000, in Nottingham, and in December of the same year online banking services were launched in the UK. During , two branches per year were opened. The expansion rate increased and during , Handelsbanken opened five new branches a year in the UK. Handelsbanken continued to expand branch-by-branch, driven by local demand reflecting the need for a different type of banking in the UK. There followed a period of significant growth and, in 2007, Handelsbanken tripled the number of new branches compared with the previous year. This brought the regional bank to a size where it was sufficiently large to start another regional bank, and during the year Handelsbanken s 50 th UK branch was opened. The year after, the first Handelsbanken branch in Scotland was opened. Handelsbanken s UK operations continued to grow and, in 2011, its 100 th UK branch was opened. And just four years later - in September Handelsbanken opened its 200 th UK branch. As of today, it has 208 branches in the UK. The impact on the gender pay gap Handelsbanken s significant growth in the UK was only made possible by the hiring of experienced individuals, many of whom joined a relatively unknown organisation - albeit one with an established presence in Sweden and a tried and tested way of doing business focused on the needs of its customers. The majority of these individuals were picked from long established financial institutions across the UK which were then, as now, dominated by men - especially in hip positions. These experienced hires were and are a key and valued part of Handelsbanken s successful growth in the UK, whilst at the same time mitigating the risks associated with a rapidly expanding organisation focused on providing excellent customer service. Despite the obvious positive impact these hires had on Handelsbanken s growth and success, this hiring activity was a significant factor in creating an imbalance between the number of men and women in roles with different levels of seniority across the organisation. This is reflected in the gender pay gap. Handelsbanken s plans for addressing the gender pay gap Knowing that the gender pay gap at Handelsbanken is a structural issue (in other words, more men than women are currently employed in senior and more higher paid roles), Handelsbanken has a number of initiatives in place to encourage the recruitment and progression of women. These have been pulled together in a cohesive strategy to support its Women in Finance Charter goals (see below).

3 Women in Finance Charter Handelsbanken was one of the first signatories of the Women in Finance Charter and, as such, is required to report annually on progress towards its goals. The Charter focuses on one simple metric the percentage of female employees in hip roles. Therefore it is easy to measure progress and, more importantly, focus on activities to keep progress on track. Even before signing up to the Charter, Handelsbanken had already made significant progress, having increased its percentage of female by 50% between 2013 and But Handelsbanken knows it can do better; after all, a more diverse workforce is good business but it is also the right thing to do. That is why Handelsbanken has committed to further increasing its ratio of female over the next eight years, with an interim goal of 30% female by 2021, and ultimately 40% female by % female 19% female 22% female 30% female 40% female Gender Equality in Handelsbanken Group Globally Handelsbanken is committed to gender equality (which is already firmly embedded within its culture) as part of its sustainable development goals. Out of the 17 Global Goals in the UN s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Handelsbanken has identified six that it believes are the most relevant and that it can contribute towards and, unsurprisingly, gender equality continues to be a focus. As illustrated by this extract from the sustainability report, Handelsbanken s focus on gender equality has already had a substantial impact - with the percentage of women in hip roles steadily increasing since 2014 to the extent that, globally, this had already reached 40% by 2016.

4 Further information can be found in the full sustainability report here. Gender equality is part of Handelsbanken s DNA, and the UK entity certainly benefits from the many Group-wide initiatives and activities that are taking place as a result, including active participation in the Group s Diversity Council (which was first established at the end of 2016). Here, all home markets contribute to activities and discussions and share ideas to move the Group goals forward. These are subsequently linked to the UK s Diversity and Inclusion Forum activities (see below). Handelsbanken believes that a focus on gender equality over a sustained period can have a demonstrable effect on its employee demographic as the graph below illustrates (where the balance of male/female in Sweden is almost equal): In the UK, Handelsbanken remains committed to (and confident) that maintaining its focus on gender equality will have a positive effect over time. It has committed to providing regular updates to its employees on progress against its stated goals and will be communicating specific activities and their outcomes. Notwithstanding this, it also encourages all employees to be mindful of the opportunities for improving gender equality at all times and invites feedback by any means.

5 Handelsbanken s Goals and Activities In addition to the Diversity and Inclusion Forum mentioned below, Handelsbanken has also committed to the following goals and activities across four main categories: Diversity and Inclusion Forum Every branch/department to have a gender equality plan Continue with and expand Women in Handelsbanken events Analyse Health and Wellbeing survey output to support diverse teams Employee Ownership Succession Planning Plans for hip roles to comprise of 40% women Enabling flexible working through the use of technology Training Recruitment Unconscious bias training rolled out to all people managers and any employee involved in recruitment Where possible, all recruitment shortlists (internal and external) to be gender balanced Recruitment training and support for recruiting managers to ensure diverse team recruitment Diversity and Inclusion Forum The Diversity and Inclusion Forum was established in 2017 following Handelsbanken s commitment to furthering gender equality and diversity as part of the Women in Finance Charter goals. The aim of the Forum is to have a place where topics of gender equality, diversity and inclusion are discussed and debated. It supports Handelsbanken s culture of openness and gives power to employees to drive change and work towards making Handelsbanken a more equal and diverse place to work. The Forum meets quarterly and its members draw up the agenda for each meeting based on feedback from the regions and head office locations. At its first meeting in October 2017, Mikael Sorensen (Handelsbanken s UK CEO) highlighted the importance of gender equality and diversity, and the Forum members committed to exploring the following actions/goals over the next year: All employees to receive unconscious bias training via e:learning or face-to-face Ensuring that gender equality and diversity is represented in all business plans Mentoring in the regions (which may help identify more role models) Setting up regional forums

6 Other Initiatives 1. Training and Development Handelsbanken ensures there is an even mix of genders/roles/ages on training courses, such as credit training and its Potential Leaders Programme. Regions and departments are challenged if there are too few female delegates in attendance and, wherever possible, the timing of these events is such that employees with flexible working arrangements are still able to attend. 2. Shared Parental Leave and Pay When the entitlement to shared parental leave was introduced by the Government, Handelsbanken decided that shared parental pay (SPP) would be payable at the same level as its enhanced maternity pay. The intention was to encourage and enable the child s father (or the mother s spouse/partner, including same sex couples) to take time off to care for the child. This is an obvious benefit to fathers/partners who might not feel able, or can afford, to take an extended break to care for a new baby. But a progressive SPP policy has also been shown (through research conducted by ACAS, amongst others) to enable women to return to the workplace either by coming back from maternity leave early or by splitting their leave up into blocks consequently removing some barriers to career progression that taking an extended absence might otherwise create. 3. Regional Gender Equality Initiatives In addition to supporting Handelsbanken s UK-wide activities, each region has defined its own initiatives to support gender equality. These include: Next Steps Ongoing diversity education Individual branch succession documents Sponsorship of emerging female Mentoring As an employer (both in the UK and globally) Handelsbanken remains committed to equality and that is why it was one of the first banks to sign up to the Women in Finance Charter (WIFC). Along with its stated WIFC goals and associated initiatives it remains confident that by also listening to, and acting on, feedback from employees it will be able to address its gender imbalance over time. As the two issues are intrinsically linked, in future years Handelsbanken s gender pay statistics and supporting statement will be published alongside its Women in Finance Charter results (usually in November or December).

7 Closing remarks from the CEO Mikael Sorensen, CEO, Handelsbanken UK, says: "Our analysis of our gender pay gap statistics show that Handelsbanken does not have an equal pay gap, but we do have a structural pay gap. "We have made a conscious effort to address this structural pay gap. Between we increased our percentage of female by 50% and today our UK senior management team is comprised equally of male and female managers. "But we must do more. We need more women in senior positions across the Bank and we need to continue focusing on gender equality and diversity in the workplace. It is not only the right thing to do, it makes good business sense too. More diversity and equality leads to stronger teams, more engaged employees and happier customers, which is why it matters to us all at Handelsbanken. "I am very proud of all the women and men who have built a successful Handelsbanken in the UK. I am also confident that with the initiatives we have in place, we will see a more gender equal and diverse workplace in the years to come and we will become an even more successful Handelsbanken because of that."