Nordea is the first stop of our trip. It is the largest financial service group in the Nordics. Nordea operates a “one bank model”, it has cross-border branching structure, which supports group-level capital, liquidity and risk management. We have a basic understand of Nordic economies status and risk control through the presentation. The Nordic economies are competitive, high-income countries characterized by high employment rates. The Nordic countries rank high on economic welfare indicators which due to high degree of equality, high taxes. Those factors all support strong social safety nets and economic stability. Nordea reflect its Nordic operating environment in terms of stability, including low loan loss ratios. Two factors are limiting bank risk in Nordic countries. First, Solid economic fundamentals keep borrowing costs down, benefiting all sectors in the Nordic economic. Second, while indebtedness is high, Nordic households are generally solid overall, also viewed in an international perspective. In addition to fiscal policy, high household saving levels provide a vital stabilizing buffer in the Nordics, better insulating economies and banks from shocks. Besides, Nordic countries have business-friendly environment and strong governance. Its legal frameworks are among the more effective in Europe.
We visited Valio, which is the largest dairy firm and the biggest food exporter in Finland. We mainly learned about Valio and how the company achieve its sustainability. Valio have set out five themes for sustainability, which are co-operative owned by farmers, animal welfare, sustainable milk production and circular economy, transparent procurement and innovations to promote health. It is interesting that Valio pays out all of the business profits to the farms through the co-operatives in the form of milk prices, because in some parts of the world farmers are exploited and forced to work in horrible financial conditions. Valio has taken sustainable (environment friendly) actions such as carbon farming courses, soy-free feeding (Non-GMO), biogas and fertilizer from manure, etc. When you have animal care as a priority it shows in the products and the people, the saying you are what you eat is very true and the Nordic culture makes sure their people feel wholesome and bubbly inside. Diets and food nutrition are essential to society, it shows when you have greedy countries and 3rd world countries We tried their dairy products during the presentation and it impressed us.
