(Bloomberg) -- When Handelsbanken announced it was appointing Michael Green as its next chief executive, no one expected the company lifer to cause much of a splash.

But less than a month into his new role, Green has already precipitated the lender’s first crisis - a public relations storm by his own making as the former head of communications, Louise Sander, denies the lender’s claim she was fired, saying she left on her own.  

It’s the first test for Green since he took over from his predecessor, Carina Akerstrom, on Jan. 1. 

“If this is Handelsbanken’s new communication strategy, then it isn’t off to a flying start,” said Sverre Linton, general counsel at the Swedish Shareholders’ Association, which represents retail investors including stockholders of the lender.

Promoted for his ability to deliver rising profitability by keeping costs in check at Handelsbanken’s dominating domestic unit, Green quickly made clear that his strategy for the company as a whole would focus on expenses as well. During his first press conference only three days into his new job, he vowed to improve efficiency and indicated he would trim the back office and support functions.

It’s an unusual change of pace for the Nordic region and certainly for Handelsbanken, which is frequently seen as Sweden’s most conservative lender, in an industry not known for revolutionary spirit in the first place. 

Green is heading a lender that has been trading at a lower valuation than its biggest Nordic competitors for some time. While its market capitalization is about equal to the equity on its balance sheet, Nordea Bank Abp and SEB each have valuations of about 30% above that threshold. 

Few noticed at the time of Green’s press conference that he singled out market communications as one area where he believed better results could be achieved. Five days later, Sander lost her job, at least according to the company, and on Jan. 26, the lender sent a harshly worded press release saying Sander, along with her deputy, was fired.

Green also brought back Handelsbanken’s former communications chief Johan Lagerstrom who’d left the role in 2017. Lagerstrom remained a consultant until late 2021 before rejoining as senior adviser in January, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Now, Sander is firing back, accusing Handelsbanken under Green of “releasing false statements” about her. She didn’t get fired, she said in a statement to Bloomberg. The truth is she left on her own volition, she said.

“I was close to the former CEO,” Sander said in her statement. “It therefore felt like a natural progression for me to move on when she decided to leave.”

Green is preparing to present Handelsbanken’s full-year results on Feb. 7. Previously the event was shaping up to be a sleepy affair as Handelsbanken is slated to report the biggest annual profit in its 153-year history. The most common areas of concern analysts had during the previous earnings call — moderated by Sander — were around Handelsbanken’s exposure to Sweden’s ailing market for commercial real estate and if the lender’s net interest income might start declining soon. 

The turbulences caused by Sander’s departure may now raise questions about the CEO’s way of handling a personnel change that tends to be run of the mill, rarely meriting nore than a press release noticed by few. 

“In most markets, people ‘take the money’ when fired and move on,” Andrew Marshall, a managing director with corporate communications consultancy Cognito, said by email. “It’s unusual for top communications roles in a financial institution to generate this level of external interest.”

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