This month, we interview Charlotte Malley, Corporate Banking Manager at Handelsbanken. Charlotte joined Handelsbanken as a graduate and now manages a portfolio of corporate customers in the London West end branch, attracting new deposit and lending business to the bank.
What is your background and experience in the property industry?
My background in the property industry is in finance, and includes funding new purchases, refinancing existing portfolios from other lenders, or releasing equity. I joined Handelsbanken as a graduate in 2017 and have held various positions, including drawing up loan documentation and taking security, and working in the credit department. I now manage a portfolio of corporate customers in our London West End branch including attracting new deposit and lending business to the bank.
Can you tell us a bit about your business and what you do?
Handelsbanken is a bank with a focus on building long-term relationships. Founded in Stockholm in 1871, we have an extensive network of branches across Great Britain, offering personal banking, corporate banking and wealth management services all under one roof. We work locally rather than by sector, meaning that account managers focus on their local geographic area and build strong relationships with local business communities.
Something that often surprises people is that Handelsbanken employees do not receive short-term bonuses or incentives, instead focussing on putting customer needs and satisfaction first. This is one of the reasons we’re consistently rated top for service quality in the Competition and Markets Authority Independent service survey (February 2026*).
Branches are empowered through Handelsbanken’s decentralised model, whereby key decisions are made by the local branch. This is a strategy born of the belief that those closest to the customer are able to serve them best.
Our prudent approach to risk and our solid capital position means we enjoy high credit ratings and as Europe’s safest commercial bank**, we’re one of the best capitalised banks with substantial liquidity reserves, so you can be sure your money is well protected.
Who are your typical clients and how do you market your service?
We work with local individuals and businesses who share the same values and want to develop strong working relationships with their bank. We get to know each and every customer on an individual basis, their needs and ambitions. Whilst we do a lot of property lending, branches work with customers across many different sectors and often have specialisms in sectors that are in their local geographic area.
We rely on our reputation to meet new customers, so it’s essential we deliver on excellent service. Most of our business comes from local recommendation from customers or from our business professional networks.
How did you first cross paths with Newmanor Law?
I met Newmanor Law through a mutual contact in the property sector – which is also how we meet a lot of our new customers!
What are the key challenges currently facing the real estate sector and how are you addressing them?
At the time of writing, Brent Crude is over $113 per barrel and one impact of ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East is a reduction to consumer confidence, with Which? reporting that 67% of UK adults expect the national economy to worsen over the next 12 months. General expectations now are that inflation and the Bank of England base rate will stay higher for longer, with this leading to many mortgage rates increasing. As a result, buyer enquiries dropped by 13% year-on-year in March according to Zoopla, and the number of homes for sale increased by 6%. The increase may also be attributable in part to landlords deciding to leave the market as a result of the increase in borrowing costs and new legislation impacting on profitability. All of these factors and the resulting impact on the residential property market have been mentioned in conversations between branch account managers and customers in recent weeks.
That said, Handelsbanken has a long-term perspective and continues to do the right business for the right customers, despite current uncertainty. We follow a ‘through-the-cycle’ approach and have remained safe, stable and profitable throughout a number of economic cycles.
What trends do you foresee in the coming years?
As regards the commercial property market, we continue to see sustainability and quality as a key driver in the office market in the West End, with an undersupply of stock at Grade A driving record rents. We continue to work to integrate sustainability into day-to-day business by offering financial products and advice that help our customers improve their sustainability of their businesses and prepare for current and future regulations.
We also continue to see new property customers who want a bank that will meet them face-to-face, take the whole of their portfolio into account rather than a single transaction, and that makes local decisions. That hasn’t changed!
*You can find our customer satisfaction scores here: handelsbanken.co.uk/customersatisfaction
**Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) is Europe’s safest commercial bank in Global Finance’s ranking of the World’s Safest Banks 2025. Global Finance is a monthly magazine covering worldwide economic, financial and political issues from a global corporate perspective. For the purpose of this ranking, commercial banks are defined as those that are not majority-owned by governments and not sponsored by governments or regional bodies. https://gfmag.com/award/worlds-safest-banks-2025-commercial-top-50/