The Nordic region’s biggest bank Nordea is to acquire the Norwegian personal customer and private banking business of Danske Bank

On Wednesday, July 19, Finland’s banking leader Nordea announced it was buying personal customer and private banking business of Danske Bank in Norway.

With the new business unit, Nordea aims to expand its presence in Norway, scaling the existing?Personal Banking business in the country. Besides, the deal offers the company new value-creation opportunities considering “clear revenue and cost synergies.”

The acquisition comes with associated $2B in savings asset?management portfolios and 22 billion euros ($24.71 billion) in lending and deposit volumes. Furthermore, it brings the buyer 285,000 additional customers.

All numbers are approximate, though, since the exact sales price and the size of the portfolio would be determined at deal closing. The acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be finalized only in late 2024.

As for additional benefits, the deal is also envisioned to bring Nordea’s mortgage business in Norway a boost. The bank foresees mortgage?market share growth of about 5% (from current 11% to around 16%). Besides, the fresh addition of the asset portfolios will presumably positively impact the Nordea Group’s earnings per share and return on equity.

Until the acquisition is finalized, Danske Bank will continue to maintain the customer relationships in the respective unit as previously. Upon the deal’s completion, the acquired business will be operated under the Nordea brand. Customers will receive all the necessary guidance throughout the transition process. At the moment, no action is required on the customer side.

We have previously reported that?Danske Bank now helps businesses track their customers’ financial health. Its new B2B business intelligence service enables business customers to check their customers’ creditworthiness and access the risks of non-payment early.