This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Nordic 150 2025 report
As the largest financial services group in the Nordics, Nordea has long been at the forefront of digital transformation, sustainability, and customer-centric innovation.
In this exclusive interview with Magnus Aurell, Head of Brand at Nordea, we explore how the bank continues to strengthen its brand through pioneering technology, ambitious ESG commitments, and a people-first culture that reflects its Nordic heritage.
Interview with Magnus Aurell
Head of Brand,
Nordea
How has the company adapted to emerging trends and technologies, and how has this influenced Nordea's brand positioning in the market?
Nordea has long been ahead of the curve in digital and mobile banking. It was one of the first banks in the world to offer internet banking via its “Solo” service back in 1999. Decades later, that pioneering spirit hasn’t faded. Nordea is still a leader in digital financial services, strengthened by years of strategic investments in technology and data. Our focus is to fully leverage our unique Nordic scale advantages to deliver an even better customer experience. Meanwhile, sustainability is embedded into the core of our business, making sure we stay strong, resilient and well equipped to support our customers with their transition plans.
What are Nordea's biggest advantages in ensuring brand success?
Several factors contribute to Nordea’s strong brand. Our Nordic heritage, which dates back to 1820, and our position as the largest financial group services in the Nordics both play an important role. With ambitious sector-specific decarbonisation targets for 2030 and 2050, and a target of providing over €200 billon in sustainable financing by end 2025, which we achieved ahead of time, Nordea has built strong ESG credentials. Strong internal engagement and digital excellence are also important factors. Together with our consistent commitment to a brand platform rooted in our Nordic uniqueness, these help us to build a strong brand.
What are the key trends you envisage as being the most important in the industry over the next three years and how can brands navigate or capitalise on those?
Technology and Innovation
We have consistently been at the forefront of digital development in the financial industry. Over the past five years, we have accelerated the development of our digital banking services to better serve our customers, today we are recognised as a digital leader. Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role in the financial industry. Interest in generative AI systems keeps growing, and new tools are making these capabilities accessible to a wide range of financial sector employees.
Climate Change
The financial sector plays a crucial role in advancing the shift towards more sustainable economies. While financial institutions are taking the necessary action, their greatest impact comes from the business activities they make every day. Nordea is proud to be a leader in advancing environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts. We aim to help our customers make sustainable choices, guiding them towards responsible business conduct and operations. As a leading asset manager with holdings in many companies, we also use our influence to encourage investees to adopt more sustainable business practices, a form of engagement known as active ownership.
Employee engagement can significantly impact brand perception. How does Nordea involve employees in contributing to and aligning with the brand's values and goals?
Our people are our key resource in driving and enhancing our brand. We aim to be the preferred employer in the financial industry in our operating countries.
Our ‘People Pulse’ survey shows strong levels of satisfaction and motivation, placing us in the top quartile of international companies surveyed by Ennova. Our size and reach help us attract and retain top talent, drawn to the opportunity to work on challenging and impactful tasks and projects that enables personal growth. Our culture is characterised by a strong customer focus, and our behaviour is guided by our values: collaboration, ownership, passion and courage. Our workforce is made up of over 100 nationalities, and we are proud to value all perspectives and celebrate our differences.
We are committed to strengthening the gender balance at all levels of the Group. In 2024 we reached 40% representation of women at the top three leadership levels combined, bringing us in line with our long-term target. Our diversity and inclusion efforts go beyond gender, embracing cultural diversity, age diversity, LGBTQ+ representation, and neurodiversity
