First it was the Vikings, then Abba and more recently Ikea who set out to prove to the rest of the world that Sweden was a force to be reckoned with. Now SEB is the latest Swedish powerhouse on a mission to conquer the world.

SEB, the Swedish financial services giant founded in 1856 by Andre Oscar Wallenberg, great great grandfather of the current chairman Jacob Wallenberg, is in the middle of a transition period. The group believes it can embrace the new without losing sight of its history as one of the country's pioneers in banking and finance.