Baltic, Cooperation, Good for Business, Markets and Companies

"Nordea has over the years built a solid and successful bank in the Baltic region with a strong position as number three in the Baltics. Now it is time to take the next step and build for the future. Together we will have the scale, stronger geographic presence and broader product offering enabling us to become the main bank for customers in the Baltics," Inga Skisaker, the head of banking in the Baltic countries, said in a press release.

"With over 70 branches in the Baltics, DNB have created a dynamic and customer-centric operations. Scale is key in banking today, with larger banks having more efficient use of resources. The new bank will be better equipped to counter increasing competition in the region and capitalise on scale in order to become the main bank for more businesses, customers and partners in the Baltics," said Mats Wermelin, the head of the Baltic Division at DNB.

Nordea has gained strong grounds in the segment of large business clients, while DNB's strength lies in the segment of small- and medium-sized business, reads the press release.

Nordea's and DNB's Baltic operations have 1,300 and 1,800 employees and 8 bln euros and 5 bln euros in assets, respectively.

The banks will operate independently and continue their usual operations until all necessary approvals have been received.

According to recent media reports, DNB might take over Nordea's operations in the Baltic states. Some analysts thought the DNB-Nordea deal would reduce competition on the market after a decline in the number of service providers, however, would not bring major changes to the current market situation.

In the January-June period of this year, Nordea netted 11.1 mln euros in Lithuania (excluding provision for losses on loans), down by 27% year-on-year. The bank's loan portfolio gained 6% to 2.3 bln euros in the first six months of 2016 year-on-year, while the deposit portfolio lost 16% to 0.96 bln euros.