Danske Bank facts for kids
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Former 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 is a very large bank and financial company from Denmark. Its main office is in Copenhagen. It is the biggest bank in Denmark and helps over 5 million people with their money in Northern Europe. The Møller family is the largest owner of the bank.
The bank started on October 5, 1871. Its first name was Den Danske Landmandsbank. This means "The Danish Farmers' Bank." In 1976, its name changed to Den Danske Bank, and in 2000, it became Danske Bank.
A few years ago, Danske Bank was involved in a big issue. Some money that was not properly checked passed through one of its branches. This led to investigations by authorities in different countries. In 2022, Danske Bank agreed to pay a large fine to the United States.
Contents
How Danske Bank Works
Danske Bank has many local banks in different countries. These include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Northern Ireland. The bank grew a lot by joining with other banks. For example, in 1990, it merged with two other Danish banks.
Danske Bank also bought banks in other countries. It bought a bank in Sweden in 1997 and one in Norway in 1999. In 2004, it bought Northern Bank in Northern Ireland. Later, in 2007, it bought Sampo Bank, which had branches in Finland and other Baltic countries.
In 2019, Danske Bank decided to stop its banking activities in the Baltic countries and Russia. This decision came after the issues with its Estonian branch.
Danske Bank in Finland
From 2007 to 2012, Sampo Bank handled Danske Bank's work in Finland. Danske Bank bought Sampo Group's banking business. Sampo Bank started a long time ago in 1887 as a savings bank linked to the post office.
Over the years, Sampo Bank changed its name several times. It became Postipankki, then Leonia Pankki, and finally Sampo Pankki. In 2012, Sampo Bank officially changed its name to Danske Bank. This made all the banking operations use the same brand name.
Danske Bank in India
Danske Bank used to have a special technology center in Bangalore, India. This center was called Danske IT Services India. In 2023, this center was sold to another company called Infosys.
Danske Bank in the Republic of Ireland
Danske Bank's branch in the Republic of Ireland was once known as the National Irish Bank. This bank was originally part of Northern Bank, which is a very old bank in Ireland. In 1986, National Irish Bank became a separate company.
In 1987, both Northern Bank and National Irish Bank were bought by National Australia Bank. The National Irish Bank changed its logo to look similar to its new owner's logo.
In 2012, Danske Bank announced that Northern Bank and National Irish Bank would join together. They would both use the Danske Bank name. The bank then closed its 27 branches to focus on helping businesses and wealthy clients. In 2013, Danske Bank decided to stop offering personal banking services in the Republic of Ireland.
Danske Bank in Lithuania
Danske Bank's history in Lithuania began in 1994 with a bank called Lietuvos Vystymo bankas. This bank was later bought by Sampo, and then by Danske Bank. It became a branch of Danske Bank.
In 2015, Danske Bank opened an IT service center in Vilnius, Lithuania. This center, called Danske Group IT Lietuva, has hired many people. By 2019, Danske Bank had over 4,000 employees in Lithuania. In 2019, Danske Bank announced it would stop its regular banking services in Lithuania. However, it kept its back-office operations active for internal work.
Danske Bank in Norway
Norway is one of Danske Bank's important markets. The bank bought Fokus Bank in Norway in 1999.
Danske Bank in Sweden
Sweden is also one of Danske Bank's biggest markets. Danske Bank bought Östgöta Enskilda Bank in Sweden in 1997.
Danske Bank in 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 Northern Bank in 1970. Northern Bank was one of the four largest banks in Northern Ireland.
Danske Bank bought Northern Bank in 2004. Northern Bank continued to use its own name until 2012, when it officially changed to Danske Bank. The bank is a leading bank in Northern Ireland with many branches. It is also one of the few banks in Northern Ireland allowed to print its own banknotes.
Former Operations
Danske Bank used to operate in a few other countries, but it has since stopped its banking services there.
Estonia
Danske Bank's operations in Estonia started in 1992 with a bank called Eesti Forekspank. This bank later merged with others and became Optiva Bank, then Sampo Pank. In 2007, when Danske Bank bought Sampo's banking business, Sampo Pank became a branch of Danske Bank.
In 2014, authorities found problems with how the Estonian branch handled money. They found that rules for checking money were not followed. In 2018, it was confirmed that a large amount of money that was not properly checked had passed through this branch. This led to many investigations by different countries. The CEO of Danske Bank, Thomas Borgen, resigned because of this. In 2019, the Estonian authorities ordered Danske Bank to stop its operations in the country. By October 2019, the bank had closed all its banking activities in Estonia.
Latvia
Danske Bank's history in Latvia began in 1996 with a bank called Maras banka. This bank was bought by Sampo, and then by Danske Bank. In 2019, Danske Bank announced it would stop its banking operations in Latvia.
Russia
Danske Bank's operations in Russia started when Sampo bought Industry and Finance Bank in 2006. After Danske Bank bought Sampo Bank, it became a branch of Danske Bank. In 2019, Danske Bank announced it would stop its banking operations in Russia.
Images for kids
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Former headquarters in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen
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Danske Campus in Vilnius, Lithuania
See also
In Spanish: Danske Bank para niños
