| Norway`s SpareBank 1* and Sweden`s FöreningsSparbanken have resolved to enter into a strategic alliance to boost the regional and local competitiveness of their banking operations in the two countries. The move was triggered by the ongoing rapid transformation of the financial services sector. The alliance will be based on an agreement covering product companies, a new branch in Oslo and skills development. As part of the process, FöreningsSparbanken will acquire a 25% holding in SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS through a NOK 720 million private placing, which puts the value of SpareBank 1 Gruppen at NOK 2,160 million. FöreningsSparbanken will also have a representative on the board of SpareBank 1 Gruppen. Stronger local footing
The new alliance between SpareBank 1 and FöreningsSparbanken will build on their common understanding of the need to develop and strengthen their local banking operations. The advent of the information society, together with increasing globalisation and ever more rapid technological advances, is transforming the financial markets. This, in turn, is bringing both stiffer competition and opportunities to offer customers new financial products and services.
By pooling their expertise and exploiting economies of scale in both production and distribution, the partners will be able to offer bank customers in Norway and Sweden a broader range of better products and services in a number of key areas. The alliance will also help to safeguard the independence and regional/local footing of the 20 SpareBank 1 banks.
Wholesale banking in Oslo
To strengthen the position of the SpareBank 1 banks in the money and capital markets and in foreign services, the partners have agreed that FöreningsSparbanken will open a branch in Oslo. The intention is to improve the banks` range of international payment and foreign currency financing services, including euro-based services. The new branch will also be the focal point of a drive to attract large Norwegian business customers.
Göran Collert: Alliance strengthens our `glocal` position
`The alliance between SpareBank 1 and FöreningsSparbanken will put both partners in a strong position when it comes to the rapid transformation the financial services sector is currently undergoing worldwide,` says Göran Collert, chairman of FöreningsSparbanken. `It will boost our competitiveness at both local and global level. We view the alliance as one of the most important strategic moves we could make to strengthen our `glocal` position.`
Finn Haugan: Final pieces in SpareBank 1`s long-term strategy now in place
`Strengthening the position of banking operations at local level has been a common goal for the SpareBank 1 banks since they first teamed up,` says Finn Haugan, chairman of SpareBank 1 Gruppen and MD of SpareBank 1 Midt-Norge. `While we have achieved a great deal in a short space of time, the SpareBank 1 alliance was not without its limitations. The new alliance with FöreningsSparbanken means that the final pieces are now falling into place for the SpareBank 1 banks, safeguarding our competitiveness locally and making us a force to be reckoned with nationally.`
Tor Lęgreid: The ideal partner for SpareBank 1
`Over the last year we have considered various means of securing the SpareBank 1 banks` safe passage into the new millennium as a competitive supplier of financial products and services,` says Tor Lęgreid, MD of SpareBank 1 Gruppen. `We looked at solutions both nationally and at Nordic level. Having weighed up all the options, we believe that the alliance with FöreningsSparbanken gives us the best possible basis for maintaining strong and independent local banking services in Norway. FöreningsSparbanken is the largest bank in the Nordic countries in the all-important mass market, with a strong footing in the savings bank movement and the same philosophy as the SpareBank 1 banks when it comes to the importance of local and regional banking.`
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Reinhold Geijer: Alliance strengthens both parties
`Our common view of customer service and the importance of strong and independent local banking form the foundations of the alliance,` says Reinhold Geijer, MD of FöreningsSparbanken. `Over time FöreningsSparbanken has built up extensive experience of this type of alliance. The agreement with SpareBank 1 will boost our local distribution capacity and make a positive contribution to the long-term ambitions of both partners.`
Both sides keen to take the alliance further
FöreningsSparbanken and SpareBank 1 Gruppen both hope to bring other savings banks in the Nordic countries into the fold and will keep an open mind when it comes to cooperation with other Norwegian savings banks.
Once FöreningsSparbanken takes up its 25% stake, SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS will stand as the parent company of a financial services group owned jointly by Sweden`s FöreningsSparbanken AB and Norway`s SpareBank 1 SR-bank, SpareBank 1 Vest, SpareBank 1 Midt-Norge, SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge and Samarbeidende Sparebanker AS.
SpareBank 1 Gruppen has the following subsidiaries: Odin Forvaltning (51%), SpareBank 1 Livsforsikring (100%), SpareBank 1 Skadeforsikring (100%) and SpareBank 1 Fondsforsikring (in the process of being set up).
Note that the agreement between SpareBank 1 Gruppen and FöreningsSparbanken requires the approval of the relevant authorities.
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