OREANDA-NEWS. February 01, 2012. Last year, the number of SEB’s customers transacting internationally grew more than 18 per cent, with these customers accounting for a quarter of SEB’s active business customers. First and foremost, the growth was supported by an increase in the number of exporting customers who receive international deposits, with their share in SEB’s customer base up 21 per cent year-on-year. The number of exporting enterprises grew most in Viru and Jarva Counties, reported the press-centre of SEB.

“We’re noticing an increase in the share of enterprises in the services sector, where the number of exporting enterprises grew most, 25 per cent. The growth in the services sector is supporting a broad-based growth in exports featuring many small and flexible enterprises whose turnovers are lower compared to other sectors. Thus, for instance, 90 per cent of enterprises providing personal and business services have turnovers less than 500 000 euros a year. The improved exporting potential of small and medium-sized enterprises makes Estonia’s economy less vulnerable, and, as a result, SEB is focusing increased attention on its active business customers this year,” said Eerika Vaikmae-Koit, Head of Retail Banking at SEB.

The number of enterprises exporting services and products grew most in Tallinn and Northern Estonia, while the number of customers in per cent terms grew most in SEB’s Eastern Region (Laane-Viru, Ida-Viru and Jarva Counties), where the number of SEB’s customers receiving international deposits was up 33.5 per cent as at the end of December 2011. The growth in the Eastern Region was impacted by the number of active enterprises producing metal or metal products and processing timber, and by the number of enterprises providing personal and other business services.

Enterprises operating in agriculture and forestry, too, are performing well in terms of exports – year-on-year, SEB’s customer base has approximately 50 new enterprises involved with agriculture and forestry who, as indicated by their deposits, export their products. Worth noting, too, is a degree of quickening in e-commerce. Although the absolute number of enterprises in this sector is low, there were approximately 2.5 times more of them in SEB’s customer base at the end of 2011.

Of new enterprises, as many as five per cent are able to sell their products or services on international markets during their first year of operations.

SEB offers its new business customers a transactions package that takes into account the needs of start-ups, with banking services, including intra-EU payments via the Internet Bank, free of charge during their first year of operations. For those enterprises already up and running, SEB has attractive offers, too – options available include various transactions packages in which all intra-bank transfers are free of charge. The fixed monthly fee on a package includes a set number of Estonia-wide or intra-EU transfers, Visa Business debit cards with no monthly service fee, attractive property insurance offers from RSA Kindlustus for for enterprises as well as other services.