Danske Bank facts for kids
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Headquarters in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen
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| Public Aktieselskab | |
| Traded as | OMX: DANSKE |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 5 October 1871 |
| Headquarters | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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Key people
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| Products | Banking, insurance, investment management |
| Revenue |  52.45 kr. billion (2023) |
| 21.26 kr. billion (2023) |
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| Total assets |  3,771 kr. billion (2023) |
| Total equity | 175.7 kr. billion (2023) |
| Owner | Møller family (21%) |
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Number of employees
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20,021 (FTE, 2023) |
Danske Bank A/S (which means "Danish Bank") is a large banking and financial company from Denmark. Its main office is in Copenhagen. It is the biggest bank in Denmark.
Danske Bank is also a major bank in northern Europe. It serves over 5 million regular customers. The bank was founded on October 5, 1871. Its first name was Den Danske Landmandsbank. This means "The Danish Farmers' Bank". In 1976, it changed its name to Den Danske Bank. The name Danske Bank was adopted in 2000.
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What Danske Bank Does
Danske Bank has many local banks across the Nordic countries. These include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It also operates in Ireland. The bank grew a lot in Denmark in 1990. This happened after it joined with two other banks.
Danske Bank expanded internationally by buying other banks. For example, it bought Östgöta Enskilda Bank in Sweden in 1997. It also bought Fokus Bank in Norway in 1999. In 2004, it acquired Northern Bank in Ireland. In 2007, it bought Sampo Bank in Finland and the Baltic countries.
In 2019, Danske Bank decided to stop its banking activities in the Baltic countries and Russia. This decision came after some serious issues were found at its branch in Estonia.
Danske Bank in Finland
From 2007 to 2012, Sampo Bank managed Danske Bank's operations in Finland. Danske Bank had bought Sampo Group's banking business. Sampo Bank started as a postal savings bank in 1887. It was called Postisäästöpankki.
Over the years, the bank changed names and merged with other companies. In 2001, it became Sampo Pankki. On November 15, 2012, Sampo Bank officially changed its name to Danske Bank. This made all banking operations use the same brand name. Buying Sampo Pankki was a very large purchase for Danske Bank.
Danske Bank in India
Danske Bank has a technology center in Bangalore, India. It is called Danske IT Services India Pvt Ltd. This center helps with the bank's technology needs.
Danske Bank in the Republic of Ireland
Danske Bank's branch in the Republic of Ireland was once known as the National Irish Bank. It started as part of Northern Bank, which is a very old bank from 1824. National Irish Bank became a separate bank in 1986.
In 1987, National Australia Bank bought both Northern Bank and National Irish Bank. The Republic of Ireland branch was renamed National Irish Bank Limited in 1988. Both banks were still run by the same team.
On May 10, 2012, Danske Bank announced that Northern Bank and National Irish Bank would merge. They would both use the Danske Bank name. This change was completed on November 18, 2012. The bank then closed its 27 branches. It decided to focus on serving companies and wealthy clients.
On October 31, 2013, Danske Bank announced it would stop offering personal banking services in the Republic of Ireland. This change happened in the first half of 2014.
Danske Bank in Lithuania
Danske Bank's history in Lithuania began in 1994. This is when Lietuvos Vystymo bankas (Lithuanian Development Bank) was founded. Sampo later bought this bank in 2000. After Danske Bank bought Sampo Bank, Sampo bankas became a branch of Danske Bank.
In 2015, Danske Bank opened an IT service center in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is called Danske Group IT Lietuva (DGITL). Over the years, Danske Bank has hired more than 4,000 people in Lithuania. In 2019, Danske Bank announced it would stop all its banking operations in Lithuania. However, it kept its local back-office active for internal work.
Danske Bank in Norway
Danske Bank also has operations in Norway.
Danske Bank in Sweden
Sweden is one of Danske Bank's biggest markets. This is similar to other Nordic countries.
Danske Bank in the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)
Danske Bank's branch in Northern Ireland is called Danske Bank UK. It started as the Northern Banking Partnership in Belfast in 1809. It became a public company in 1824. In 1970, it became Northern Bank.
Danske Bank bought Northern Bank in December 2004. Northern Bank kept its own name until November 2012. Then, it started using the name of its parent company, Danske Bank. It is a leading bank in Northern Ireland. It has 44 branches and three business centers. Northern Bank, operating as Danske Bank, is one of four banks in Northern Ireland allowed to print its own banknotes.
Former Operations
Danske Bank used to operate in some countries where it no longer does.
Estonia
Danske Bank's history in Estonia goes back to 1992. This is when Eesti Forekspank was created. In 2000, Finnish Sampo Bank bought it. It was renamed Sampo Pank. In 2007, when Danske Bank bought Sampo's banking business, Sampo Pank became a branch of Danske Bank.
In 2014, the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority found problems with how the bank followed rules. They told Danish authorities about these findings. In 2018, Estonia's prosecutor general started an investigation. On September 19, 2018, the CEO of Danske Bank, Thomas Borgen, resigned because of these issues.
In February 2019, the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority ordered Danske Bank to stop its operations in Estonia within 8 months. Danske Bank announced it would stop its banking activities there. By October 2019, the bank had closed all its banking operations in Estonia.
Latvia
Danske Bank's history in Latvia began in 1996. This is when Maras banka was established. Sampo bought Maras in 2004. After Danske Bank bought Sampo Bank, Sampo banka became a branch of Danske Bank. In February 2019, Danske Bank announced it would stop its banking operations in Latvia.
Russia
Danske Bank's history in Russia started when Sampo bought Industry and Finance Bank (Profibank) in 2006. After Danske Bank bought Sampo Bank, it became a branch of Danske Bank. In February 2019, Danske Bank announced it would stop its banking operations in Russia.
See also
