Swedish House of Finance joins network to promote Stockholm as financial center

Feb. 08, 2017

The network for promoting Stockholm as a financial center has a new member: Swedish House of Finance has joined the Stockholm International Financial Initiative, SIFI.“A good financial center needs good banks, good IT, good law firms – and good financial education and research”, says Pehr Wissén, senior advisor at Swedish House of Finance.

The Stockholm International Financial Initiative, SIFI, is a network founded in 2015 by Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with Stockholm Business Region and Nasdaq. Other members are the law firms Mannheimer & Swartling and Vinge.  And now – the Swedish House of Finance.

“The network wants Stockholm to be promoted better as a financial center, establishing the city as a natural choice for banks and insurance companies that want a presence in our part of the world. Joining the network is another way for us to be useful to our sponsors, and to the society. We make sure Stockholm has access to highly trained staff and international research, and create high quality conferences that bring people from around the world to Stockholm.”, says Pehr Wissén.

Why is the SIFI network important?
“Stockholm is ranked undeservedly low when financial centers worldwide are listed. This is partly due to a need to spread knowledge of Stockholm’s capacity as a financial center. In Scandinavia, I would say that Stockholm is leading today. What role the SIFI network, and Stockholm, will play in the future is partly dependent on the development that will follow after Brexit”, says Pehr Wissén.”

The financial industry employs about 100,000 people in Sweden, and contributes about 5 per cent of Sweden’s GDP. Large investments in fintech have been made the last few years, resulting in several successful innovations and companies.