HLPartnership has added Handelsbanken to its lender panel as part of its ongoing strategy to strengthen adviser support and broaden access to lending options for clients with complex or non-standard circumstances.
The move forms part of the network’s wider commitment to ensuring suitable advice, fair value and positive outcomes for a diverse range of borrowers under the principles of Consumer Duty.
Handelsbanken operates through a decentralised UK branch network, where local banking teams are empowered to make lending decisions. This relationship-led model allows advisers to deal directly with decision makers, ensuring cases are assessed individually while maintaining robust credit and affordability standards.
Matt Brown (pictured), propositions director at HLPartnership, said: “Our role as a network is to provide advisers with the resources, relationships and flexibility they need to deliver consistently good outcomes for their clients.
“Handelsbanken’s approach complements that objective perfectly. Their focus on individual case assessment and local decision-making gives advisers an additional route to support clients whose circumstances may not fit a standard profile, while ensuring appropriate, responsible lending.”
Steve Macdonald, national head of intermediary business at Handelsbanken, added: “We’re delighted to be partnering with HLPartnership and making our broad mortgage offering available to their advisers.
“As a bank, we focus on long-term relationships and all banking decisions are made in-branch by local experts – this means we can support a whole range of clients, whatever their individual needs.
“We believe that taking the time to understand every customer individually, coupled with the flexibility of our fully decentralised model, means we can offer the right product each time.”
The inclusion of Handelsbanken aligns with HLP’s broader strategy of offering a balanced mix of mainstream, specialist and relationship-based lenders. The approach is designed to help advisers respond to changing market conditions while maintaining high standards of advice quality and compliance.
