Nordea, DNB to merge Baltic operations
The Swedish and Norwegian banks will combine their businesses in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to become “the main bank for customers in the Baltics”.
Sweden’s Nordea Bank and Norwegian rival DNB have agreed to merge their operations in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to strengthen their presence in the region.
In a joint statement from the two banks, Inga Skisaker, head of banking Baltic countries at Nordea described the aim behind the deal was to make the combined unit the “main bank for customers in the Baltics.”
“Scale is key in banking today, with larger banks having more efficient use of resources,” added Mats Wermelin, head of Baltic division at DNB.
Stockholm-based Nordea and Oslo-based DNB agreed to share will equal voting rights over the combined bank. The deal is subject to regulatory approval, but is expected to be completed around the second quarter of 2017, the two said. The banks will operate independently until such approval is received.
Nordea’s Baltic operations have 1,300 employees and €8bn (US$9bn) in assets, while DNB has 1,800 employees in the region and €5bn in assets.
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