The 16 October edition of the Financial Times features a letter from our very own CEO Hanna Vainio. The letter reinforces Euroclear’s role as the heart of Sweden’s financial market and highlights our ongoing Nordic transformation programme.
Hanna Vainio featured in The Financial Times: Swedish shareholder democracy goes from strength to strength
Letter:
Swedish shareholder democracy goes from strength to strength
Patrick Jenkins’ recent opinion piece (“Sweden can teach the world a lesson on stock market success”, Business Insight, October 7) rightly highlights AstraZeneca’s enduring commitment to the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange. This decision reflects not only strategic business considerations, but also the unique strengths of Sweden’s equity culture.
One key factor, perhaps overlooked, is AstraZeneca’s substantial base of nearly 170,000 Swedish shareholders, as shown in Euroclear Sweden’s latest quarterly shareholder report. This vibrant domestic ownership exemplifies the high level of shareholder engagement that distinguishes the Swedish financial market from many other markets.
Aside from Swedish shareholders of AstraZeneca, Euroclear Sweden’s latest shareholder report shows that the number of Swedish shareholders in general is at an all-time high.
The second quarter saw an increase of more than 27,000 new shareholders compared to Q1, bringing the total to more than 2,830,000 shareholders in Sweden. Furthermore, the typical shareholder portfolio contains shares in five companies. To preserve and strengthen this foundation, all participants in Sweden’s financial ecosystem must work together to foster an environment that supports capital formation and innovation.
Euroclear’s Nordic transformation programme, which officially kicked off last spring, unites the central securities depositories of Sweden and Finland on a common platform — a major step towards aligning the Nordic markets with European standards. This modernisation ensures that the essential arteries of our financial markets remain efficient, resilient and ready to support future growth.
By continuing to invest in robust infrastructure and collaborative innovation, Sweden can remain at the forefront of global capital markets — setting an example for others to follow.
Hanna Vainio
CEO of Euroclear Sweden and Finland
Stockholm, Sweden
