James Sproule, Chief Economist of Handelsbanken UK, has been confirmed to speak at the BMF Members’ Annual Conference on 21 September, where he will offer his perspective on the UK economy.

Founded in Sweden in 1871, Handelsbanken is one of the world’s strongest banks with home markets serving corporate and private customers in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and the UK, where it now has over 200 branches.

At Handelsbanken, Sproule is a trusted adviser to a wide range of the bank’s clients, as well as being an integral part of the bank’s broader risk management team.

For much of 2019, Sproule was a Senior Business Adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, prior to which he worked with several think tanks. He was the Chief Economist and Director of Policy at the Institute of Directors between 2014 and 2017, after spending two decades in the City as an economist in merchant banks and consultancies, eventually helping to found the boutique bank Augusta and Company. He was also a visiting fellow in the Department of Management Economics at the London School of Economics for seven years.