Sweden Bank Mergers & Acquisitions (Svenska Handelsbanken)

Photo: Svenska Handelsbanken's head office in Stockholm.

Photographer: Bengt Wanselius.  Source: Svenska Handelsbanken's web site, used with permission.

Svenska Handelsbanken AB

In Scandinavian, German and Dutch languages, the word "handel" means a trade or business, as in the chemicals trade or the forestry trade. The name Svenska Handelsbanken, hence, means the "Swedish Commercial Bank". The bank was established in 1871 by eight former directors from rival Stockholms Enskilda Bank who resigned to form their own bank following a board disagreement.  Initially, the bank was called Stockholms Handelsbank, focusing on accepting deposits and making loans to businesses in the Swedish capital. The bank was floated on the Stockholm stock exchange in 1873. 

The bank began to open branches in other parts of Stockholm in 1875.  During the mid-1880s, Sweden suffered a major economic recession due to a real estate collapse.  Stockholms Handelsbank suffered losses, but survived the downturn. 

In 1893, private banker Louis Fraenckel was appointed to the bank’s managing director position.  His tenure lasted until 1911, during which his own private banking operations were amalgamated into Stockholms Handelsbank, allowing it to gain important corporate clients and to expand into the foreign exchange business.  During the 19^th century, branch banking was not a common practice in many countries, and instead of directly operating a network of branches outside of Stockholm, the bank chose to partner with local investors in establishing a number of regional banks to share risk and to optimize local expertise.

However, by the early 20^th century, industrialization has created large corporations with nationwide operations and even multi-nationals that required much larger capital, trade finance and international services.  Small regional banks could no longer serve such ever-expanding industrials.  Waves of bank mergers happened across Western Europe and America, and Sweden was no exception.  In 1914, Stockholms Handelsbank took over Bank AB Norra Sverige. This expanded Stockholms Handelsbanken’s reach to 36 new towns, primarily along the Norrland coast where Sweden’s forestry industry was concentrated. 

Then in 1917, the bank further strengthened its position in the north by acquiring Norrlandsbanken, which had 79 branches.  Before long though, the bank realized that its loan concentration in the Swedish North and forestry industry gave it undue credit risk.  The bank then opened branches in Göteborg and Malmö, and in 1919 expanded to the south by acquiring the 67-branch Bank AB Södra Sverige.   To celebrate this nationwide expansion, Stockholms Handelsbank adopted its current name: Svenska Handelsbanken.

The 1920s and 1930s was turbulent times for the world economy, with asset prices and consumption swinging wildly, and Sweden’s export volumes and economy rode along the roller-coaster ride.  Svenska Handelsbanken on several occasions had to take over the majority ownership of its industrial clients while their bad debts were re-structured.  A famous name that the bank owned for a period of time was telecommunications engineering firm LM Ericsson.  Amidst the very challenging operating environment, the bank took over Mälarebanken in 1926.

The closing months of the 1930s saw the start of World War II when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and the subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and Great Britain two days later.  British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had pledged support for Poland back in March 1939, when Germany’s military hostilities became obvious. At the outbreak of conflicts, Sweden declared its neutrality, a move that failed to prevent socio-economic hardship as its western, southern and eastern neighbours (Norway, Denmark and Finland) all fell to Nazi German occupation at the height of World War II.

Situated at a strategic location between Great Britain, Germany, Denmark and the Soviet Union, Sweden’s access to both the North and Baltic Seas were severely curtailed by both the Allied Forces’ and the Axis’ naval blockades, as both sides feared that the other powers would use the pretense of Swedish neutrality to aid their respective war efforts.  Foreign trade in and out of Sweden fell sharply, leading to severe shortages of petroleum, rubber, foods and metal products.  Notwithstanding the economic distress, Sweden did avoid the devastating human toll and physical destruction of other European countries that endured years of battles.

Svenska Handelsbanken continued to strengthen during the 1940s, taking over Norrkopings Folkbank in 1941 and Vänersborgsbanken in 1943.  In 1955, Svenska Handelsbanken acquired mortgage provider SIGAB, which became today’s Handelsbanken Hypotek.  During the rest of the 1950s, it also took over Luleå Folkbank and Gotlandsbanken. 

In 1963, Svenska Handelsbanken became the first Swedish bank to launch a lease-finance and factoring services subsidiary when it established Säljfinans, which became Svenska Finans in 1973 and Handelsbanken Finans in 1991.  The 1960s also witnessed the start of computerization to handle the burgeoning volume of transactions.  Computer terminals at the individual branch level began in 1973, allowing immediate account balance updates for the first time. 

The year 1973 also marked an important milestone for the bank’s management-employee relations, as Svenska Handelsbanken launched a profit-sharing program for its union employees. The funds allocated from the profit-sharing were invested in the bank's shares, which eventually gave the union foundation representation in the bank’s board of directors.

Svenska Handelsbanken’s mutual fund offerings began in 1971 when it acquired a sales agency that handled the “Koncentra” mutual fund series.  That operation evolved into today’s asset manager Handelsbanken Fonder ("Handelsbanken Funds").

The 1980s was tumultuous times in the Swedish economy and banking industry.  Tight regulations that had been in place since World War II on interest rates, credit ceilings, foreign exchange rate as well as the types of savings and loan products that each of the three categories of credit institutions (savings banks, co-operative banks and commercial banks) could provide were gradually removed.  This liberalization policy led to a proliferation of loan volumes, as players in all three credit institution categories tried to grab market share from each other by offering easier and easier credit. Much of the new debt fuelled speculative commercial real estate construction activities, which went bust in 1990 when Sweden was hit by a deep recession brought on partly by the collapse of its traditional export markets in the disintegrating Soviet Bloc and rising interest rates. 

Speculative corporate loans made in the late 1980s suddenly turned sour and Sweden plunged into a severe currency and banking crisis which saw the national government providing SEK 66-billion of state guarantees to prevent a colossal collapse of the banking sector.  The more cautiously-run Svenska Handelsbanken, however, stood out as the only major Swedish bank that did not request any handout from the government. Indeed throughout the 1990s, its capital position was so strong that it acquired ailing banks domestically and in Norway and Finland, both of which suffered their own similar banking crises as Sweden. Outside of the Nordic region, Svenska Handelsbanken considers Great Britain and the Netherlands as its home markets, operating 180 branches and 22 branches respectively (accurate as of 2014). In recent years, the bank has often purposely omitted the “Svenska” part of the formal name, marketing itself as “Handelsbanken” instead.

Recent transaction(s):

• In 1990, Handelsbanken acquired Malmö-based Skänska Banken, which had 76 branches.
• Also in 1990, Handelsbanken bought Norway's Oslo Handelsbanken.
• In 1991, Handelsbanken bought Stavanger Bank of Norway.
• In 1995, Handelsbanken bought the healthy parts of Finland's Skopbank.
• In 1997, Handelsbanken bought Swedish mortgage provider Stadshypotek AB for SEK 23.0-billion (USD $3.28-billion).
• In 1998, Handelsbanken offered NOK 5.09-billion (SEK 5.44-billion, USD $690-million) for Norway's Fokus Bank. However, within days, Denmark's Den Danske Bank jumped into the foray. After a brief but intense bidding war, Den Danske Bank raised its offer for Fokus to NOK 5.815-billion (SEK 6.222-billion, USD $778-million) and won the Norwegian bank.
• In 1999, Handelsbanken bought Norway's Bergensbanken for NOK 1.55-billion (SEK 1.69-billion, USD $200-million). Bergensbanken had 6 branches in Bergen, the second largest city in Norway.
• In 2000, Handelsbanken bought Swedish mutual life insurer and pension fund manager SPP Livförsäkring AB and SPP Fonder AB for SEK 7.1-billion (USD $734-million). The Swedish bank planned to demutualize SPP as soon as feasible.
• In 2001, Handelsbanken bought Denmark's Midtbank A/S for SEK 2.5-billion (DKK 2.05-billion, USD $245-million). Midtbank had a strong presence in Denmark's Jutland region.
• In 2006, Handelsbanken's SPP Liv was demutualized, and surpluses totalling SEK 2.5-billion (USD $326-million) were distributed to the policyholders.
• In late 2007, Handelsbanken sold its Swedish-based insurance and pensions division SPP to Norway's Storebrand Holding AB for SEK 18.2-billion (EUR 2.6-billion, USD $2.62-billion).

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Sweden Bank Mergers & Acquisitions (Swedbank)

Photo: The sign of a Swedbank branch. The oak tree logo has been in use by one of Swedbank's predecessor savings banks since at least 1928 to signify the benefits of long-term savings and growth.

Photo source: Swedbank's corporate press web page.

Swedbank AB (formerly FöreningsSparbanken AB)


Sparbanken Sverige AB (Swedbank)

Throughout the Renaissance period to the early 19th century, depositing or borrowing money at a bank was reserved only for the aristocrats and wealthy merchants with access to private banks. The average person at the time would not have had the surplus money to save, the credibility to borrow, or access to a bank.

Then in 1810, a clergyman named Henry Duncan founded the Ruthwell Parish Bank in the Scottish village of Ruthwell. The new bank permitted low-income villagers to open accounts with minimal balances. The idea is to encourage saving for a rainy day and for old age security. Rev. Duncan used the bank’s surplus to run a charity for the poor, as well as to build a parish school for the local children.

The concept under which bank profits are channeled to promote charitable causes and social welfare soon spread like wildfires across Britain and Europe, prompting the Swedish government to launch a study of the Scottish savings bank movement. In 1820, a German merchant named Eduard Ludendorff established Sweden’s first savings bank in Göteborg (Gothenburg) with the aim to encourage long-term savings for the average citizens, to offer small loans to individuals and small businesses, and to finance local and regional projects.

By the 1870s, more than 300 savings banks had sprung up across Sweden. Interestingly, the savings banks operated for decades without any regulatory legislation until 1892, when the first Savings Bank Act became law. In 1900, the Swedish Savings Bank Association was established to facilitate collaboration between the member banks. This led to the creation of Sparbankernas Bank (literally, the "Savings Banks’ Bank," which also used a second brand name “Swedbank”) in 1942 to handle international settlement of fund transfers and foreign exchange for its members.

In the 1970s, banking reforms in Sweden largely eliminated the legal distinction between the commercial banks, savings banks and co-operative banks. Throughout the booming 1980s, the savings banks and co-operative banks exploited the de-regulation and snatched market share from the commercial banks by aggressively lending to less credit-worthy clients. The engagement of this fierce competition led to a systematic disregard of default risk by the entire banking sector. The resulting massive increase in money supply inflated a speculative real estate bubble in the late 1980s.


Föreningsbanken AB

In 1915, the Swedish parliament passed legislation for the creation of the agricultural co-operative credit society (banking) system. The co-operative banking system was based on the “one member, one vote” principle, under which the credit society is owned collectively and mutually by its member-clients and not by shareholders who can buy and sell shares at will. The mandate of the agricultural credit co-op was chiefly to promote agriculture and provide loans and savings accounts for small-scale farm owners, not to maximize profits.

Sweden’s first agricultural credit co-op opened for business in 1915 in Västerhaninge, south of Stockholm. Under the co-operative structure, each member was required to work in the bank based on the size of his farm. By the 1930s, the numerous agricultural banking co-ops had almost 800 offices.

In 1956, significant changes to the agricultural co-operative bank legislation eliminated the members’ personal responsibility for the banks’ operations, and also relaxed restrictions that previously only offered loans to property title holders. In 1958, the various agricultural credit co-ops (known as “jordbrukskassan” in Swedish) established a “central bank” named Jordbrukets Bank ("Bank of Agriculture"), whose function was similar to the savings bank sector’s “central bank” Sparbankernas Bank. Subsequently, Jordbrukets Bank was renamed Föreningsbankernas Bank ("Union Bank’s Bank").

Following Sweden’s banking reforms in the 1970s, the savings banks and the agricultural co-operative banks were no longer restricted to taking small personal deposits only, and they began to compete with the limited-liability commercial banks. In 1974, the various agricultural co-op banks formally adopted the Föreningsbanken (“Union Bank”) brand.


The Swedish Economic and Banking Crisis in the Early 1990s

Towards the late 1980s, Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia suffered a major economic and banking crisis. Loose lending practices earlier in the decade had brought about a speculative real estate bubble. By 1987, Sweden’s inflation rate began to rise noticeably, which caused interest rates to rise starting in 1988. Meanwhile, the Collapse of Communism in the Soviet Bloc in 1989 led to economic chaos in many of Sweden’s exports markets. As exports and demand for goods and services slumped, unemployment rose. Consumer confidence tumbled and the real estate bubble burst. To use an oxymoron, it was an economic “perfect storm.”

As borrowers defaulted on their loans en masse, the over-leveraged banking sector saw its losses skyrocket. In October 1991, Sweden’s largest savings bank Första Sparbanken’s equity capital was wiped out by losses. Unfortunately, the liquidity crisis was not unique to Första, and soon the entire panic-stricken Swedish banking sector was on the verge of collapse.

By September 1992, the Swedish government had to pledge unlimited state loan guarantees for the banking sector to avoid a cross-the-board bank run, covering 114 banks. The only bank that did not require the state guarantee was Svenska Handelsbanken, Sweden’s dominant private-sector bank.

The crisis culminated in the collapse of confidence in the Swedish economy and currency in September 1992. As international investors dumped the Swedish krona (SEK) in the foreign exchange market, the central bank Sveriges Riksbank raised the overnight interest rate to 500 per cent per annum in a desperate but futile attempt to stem capital outflow, and to maintain its currency peg with the European Currency Unit (ECU) as part of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).

In November, 1992, Sweden conceded defeat and gave up attempts to maintain the krona’s peg with the ECU. Sweden has since opted to keep its own currency rather than adopting the Euro.

The economic and banking crisis accelerated the pace of reform for the savings banks and the agricultural co-operative credit societies in Sweden. In the savings bank sector, the business operations and management were separated from the socio-economic mandates of the savings banks. The goal was to achieve greater strategic and management freedom away from loan approvals made based on the socio-economic mandates. Far more disciplined risk management controls were also implemented as part of the reform.

A central piece of the restructuring was to convert the savings banks’ former public-sector (i.e. regional government-owned) status into the joint-stock (public limited-liability status, or “Aktiebolag” and “AB” in Swedish) format. The regional foundations initially still held 100% of the joint-stock savings banks. However, as the individual savings banks were far too small to engage in major lending activities without exposing themselves to excessive risks, the foundations began to merge their individual savings banks into a much bigger banking group.

Recent transaction(s):

• In 1991, 12 regional agricultural co-operative banks merged with their central bank unit Föreningsbankernas Bank to form the new Föreningsbanken AB.
• In 1992, 10 savings banks joined forces with the Sparbankernas Bank (also known as Swedbank, the savings banks’ central bank unit), to form the Sparbanksgruppen AB ("The Savings Banks Group"). Like the former Sparbankernas Bank, the holding company Sparbanksgruppen had no bank licence of its own, as the 10 regional savings banks continued to operate as separate legal entities. The regional foundations that used to own the individual banks now collectively owned 100% of the parent company Sparbanksgruppen, which was also known as Swedbank.
• Later in 1992, as a second step of the industry restructuring, Sparbanksgruppen AB (Swedbank) merged with the ailing Sparbanken Första to form Sparbanken Sverige AB (“Savings Bank Sweden," also known as Swedbank).
• In 1994, Föreningsbanken AB was listed on the Stockholm stock exchange.
• In 1995, the foundations holding 100% of Sparbanken Sverige/ Swedbank floated part of their stake in the bank on the Stockholm stock exchange.
• In 1997, Sparbanken Sverige/ Swedbank merged with Föreningsbanken to form FöreningsSparbanken AB. The deal was valued at USD $1.6-billion according to some reports. The new FöreningsSparbanken/ Swedbank became Sweden's No. 2 bank at the time.
• In 1999, FöreningsSparbanken/ Swedbank raised its holding in Estonian-based Hansabank to more than 50%. Founded in 1991 in Estonia, Hansabank also operated in Latvia and Lithuania.
• In 2001, FöreningsSparbanken and rival SEB agreed to merge and form SEB Swedbank. However, in September, the European Union’s anti-competition authority blocked the merger, citing a significant loss of competition if the merger was allowed to proceed. The merger proposal was subsequently terminated.
• In 2004, Swedbank’s majority-owned Hansabank bought Russia’s Kvest Bank.
• In 2005, FöreningsSparbanken bought the 40% of Hansabank not already owned for Eur 1.73-billion.
• In 2006, FöreningsSparbanken officially changed its name to Swedbank AB.
• In 2007, Swedbank bought Ukraine's TAS-Kommerzbank for USD $735-million (Eur 536-million). TAS-Kommerzbank operated 170 branches and had a staff of 2,300. It was the country's 13th largest bank.
• In October 2008, Swedbank raised SEK 12.4-billion (USD $1.5-billion) in a preferred securities rights issue during the global credit crisis.
• In October 2009, Swedbank raised another SEK 15.1-billion (Eur 1.47-billion, USD $2.1-billion) in new capital from a fully-subscribed rights issue. Swedbank opted to raise capital from its own shareholders rather than to seek more state guarantees from the Swedish government. The bank was experiencing a sharp rise in loan defaults in its Baltic operations.

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Sweden/ Scandinavia Bank Mergers & Acquisitions (Nordea Bank)

Photo: A Nordea Bank office in Copenhagen, Denmark.

With special thanks to Johan Bakken of Norway, who kindly granted me the permission to use his photo. You can see more of Mr. Bakken's photos via this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johanbak/


Nordea Bank AB

Stockholm-based Nordea Bank group is one of Scandinavia's largest banks. The pan-Scandinavian bank has four national home markets: Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. In addition, the bank also operates in Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Russia. Nordea was formed in 2000 but its earliest component was established in 1820 in Denmark. Since that time, over 250 banks have been amalgamated into today's Nordea.


Unidanmark/ Unibank (Denmark)

SDS Bank A/S

The earliest predecessor of the present-day Nordea Bank was founded in 1820 under the name Sparekassen for Kjøbenhavn og Omegn in Denmark. Unlike most banks in existence at the time that catered to wealthy merchants, Sparekassen for Kjøbenhavn og Omegn's main goal was to encourage savings and to provide banking services for the ordinary people. Interestingly, the savings bank counted Hans Christian Andersen (1805 to 1875), the famous children’s book author, as one of its clients. Over the years, the bank subsequently became Sparekassen København-Sjælland.

In 1973, Sparekassen København-Sjælland joined forces with two other major Danish savings banks Sparekassen Midtjylland and Sparekassen Falster-Østlolland to form Sparekassen SDS. The combination was in preparation to legislation changes in 1974 that relaxed the types of services that Danish savings banks could offer to corporate clients. In 1988, the Danish Parliament passed legislation allowing savings banks to convert to joint-stock status. In 1989, Sparekassen SDS converted itself into a limited-liability bank called SDS Bank A/S. SDS operated 316 branches as of 1989.

Privatbanken A/S

In 1857, Privatbanken i Kjøbenhavn was founded by a group of Copenhagen businessmen. During its first 100 years, the bank mainly focused on the commercial banking market by providing loans and discounting bills for larger businesses. Only after World War II did the rise of the middle class turn Privatbanken’s attention to individual clients. Over the years, Privatbanken acquired 25 smaller rivals; by 1989, the bank’s network had expanded to 189 full-service branches within Denmark, plus overseas offices in Luxembourg, New York and Singapore.

Andelsbanken A/S

In 1925, Den Danske Andels- og Folkebank was established to act as the central bank for a number of co-operative banks in the agricultural and food processing sector. In 1974, Andelsbanken/ Danebank became a public limited company. During the 1980s, Andelsbanken acquired a number of domestic rivals and by 1990; it had 230 branches in Denmark plus offices in the Isle of Man and Singapore.

In 1990, these three Danish banks Andelsbanken A/S, Privatbanken A/S and SDS Bank A/S merged to form Unibank under a holding company called Unidanmark. In 1999, Unidanmark took over Danish insurer Tryg-Baltica A/S. In the same year, Tryg-Baltica bought Norwegian insurer Vesta.


Nordbanken (Sweden)

Sweden’s Nordbanken just before its merger with Finland’s Merita Bank in 1997 can trace its history to four major Swedish banks: the original Nordbanken, PKbanken, Sveriges Kreditbank and Gota Bank.

Nordbanken (Nordbanken, PKbanken, Sveriges Kreditbank)

In 1864, a bank closely connected to Sweden's forestry sector was founded under the name of Sundsvallsbanken. One year later, the Uplandsbanken was founded. In 1986, Sundsvallsbanken and Uplandsbanken merged to form Nordbanken.

In 1884, the Postsparbanken was founded by the Swedish government to provide nationwide competition to the private-sector banks. Postsparbanken was renamed Postbanken subsequently. In 1920, it became under the administration of the Svenska Postverket (Swedish Post Office).

In 1917, the predecessor of Sveriges Kreditbank, the Lantmannabanken (loosely translated to “Rural People’s Bank”) was founded. The bank failed in 1923 during an economic crisis and was nationalized and renamed Jordbrukarbanken (“Farmers Bank”). This bank subsequently renamed itself the Sveriges Kreditbank (“Swedish Creditbank"). In 1974, the Swedish Parliament transferred the banking business of Postbanken to the state-owned Sveriges Kreditbank. The new bank adopted the name Post- och Kreditbanken, or PKbanken. PKbanken gained market share rapidly from about 11% to 22% between 1974 and 1977. As PKbanken expanded rapidly, more capital was needed and an IPO was launched to list the bank on the Stockholm stock exchange in 1984.

In 1990, PKbanken acquired Nordbanken but the enlarged bank kept the Nordbanken name. The bank suffered severe losses during the pan-Scandinavian economic crisis in the early 1990s. At one point, close to half of the bank’s corporate loan portfolio was in danger of default, and the bank was fully nationalized in September 1992. In 1993, the state-owned Nordbanken further absorbed Gota Bank (see below), another ailing Swedish bank.

By 1995, Nordbanken had been nursed back to financial health and the Swedish government listed 30% of its stock on the Stockholm stock exchange in October and raised SKR 5.9-billion (USD $888-million).

Gota Bank

In 1848, a group of Gothenburg merchants founded their own bank, Göteborgs Privat Bank. In 1858, following the lead of Stockholm Enskilda Bank, Göteborgs Privat Bank changed its name to Göteborgs Enskilda Bank. In 1898, the bank merged with the Stockholms Diskontobank, which specialized in discounting bills. In 1903, it was transformed into a public limited company and renamed Göteborgs Bank. Further expansion happened when it acquired the Kopparbergs Enskilda Bank. In 1972, after a merger with Smålandsbanken (founded 1837), the Göteborgs Bank adopted the name Götabanken.

In 1990, Götabanken, Wermlandsbanken (founded 1832) and Skaraborgsbanken (founded 1865) consolidated to form the new Gota Bank. The Scandinavian economic and banking crisis in the early 1990s saw the nationalized Nordbanken taking over the ailing Gota Bank in 1993.


Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse (Norway)

In 1848, the earliest Nordea constituent bank in Norway was founded in Oslo (called Christiana at the time) under the name Christiania Kreditkasse. The bank was established by the local trade association with the expressed aim to provide modern banking for the business community. Interestingly, Christiania Kreditkasse’s attempt to expand outside of Oslo was met with great resistance. Local business interests in other towns shunned the Oslo bank, while the Oslo merchants also protested against draining the bank’s working capital out of the capital city.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Norway experienced three major economic crises and hundreds of smaller banks failed and were amalgamated into the dozens of stronger banks.

In the early 1980's, Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse bought several other Norwegian banks. However, by 1990, a severe banking crisis in Norway forced the bank into bankruptcy and the Norwegian government took control of Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse. As the bank's financial health recovered, the Norwegian government gradually sold its holdings in Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse to the public from 1995 onwards.


Merita Bank (Finland)

In 1862, Suomen Yhdyspankki ("Finnish Union Bank"), Finland's first commercial bank was established. Finland at the time was an autonomous republic of the Russian Empire. Even though a number of co-operative savings banks had existed in Finland since the 1820s, they proved too small and their operations too regional to serve the rapidly industrializing national economy. Within its first year, 10 branches were opened throughout the country.

Finland gained official independence in 1917 and the need to become self-reliant became even more urgent. In 1919, Suomen Yhdyspankki merged with a rival commercial bank called Pohjoismaiden Osakepankki ("Nordic Joint-Stock Bank") to form the Pohjoismaiden Yhdyspankki ("Nordic Union Bank"). During the tough times of the 1930s, the prudently-managed Pohjoismaiden Yhdyspankki took over a number of smaller commercial banks that had become insolvent.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Pohjoismaiden Yhdyspankki opened offices overseas in Geneva, London, Luxembourg, New York, Paris and Singapore.

In 1975, the bank became known as the Union Bank of Finland internationally, and its Finnish name was reverted back to Suomen Yhdyspankki. The bank merged with Helsingin Osakepankki, Finland’s No. 3 bank, in 1986.

The pan-Scandinavian real estate bust of the early 1990s severely destabilized the region’s economy and banking system. In Finland, Suomen Säästöpankki (The Finnish Savings Bank) failed in 1993 and its operations were split four-way between the Union Bank of Finland, Kansallis-Osake-Pankki ("National Joint-Stock Bank," also known as KOP Bank) and two other Finnish banks. Just the year before, Kansallis-Osake-Pankki had already taken over Suomen Työväen Säästöpankki (the savings bank belonging to the Finnish labour movement). Kansallis-Osake-Pankki itself was founded in 1889 by the Finnish national movement before Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917.

In 1995, further consolidation saw the merger between the Unitas Ltd. (parent company of the Union Bank of Finland) and Kansallis-Osake-Pankki. The enlarged entity adopted the new name Merita Bank.

Recent transaction(s):

• In 1997, Finland's Merita Bank merged with Sweden's Nordbanken to form the MeritaNordbanken. This was the first cross-border merger of the constituent banks that would later become Nordea.
• In March 2000, Finnish-Swedish bank MeritaNordbanken merged with Denmark's Unidanmark in a deal worth Eur 4.80-billion (USD $4.0-billion or 5.0 billion). Nordic Baltic Holding was created as the parent company of MeritaNordbanken and Unidanmark.
• In October 2000, Swedish-Danish-Finnish bank Nordic Baltic Holding acquired Norway's Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse for NKR 24.3-billion (USD $3.11-billion). Nordic Baltic Holding now had four national home markets: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
• In early 2001, Nordic Baltic Holding renamed itself Nordea. The name was chosen by combining the words "Nordic" and “idea”.
• In 2001, Nordea bought Sweden's Postgirot Bank for SEK 4.1-billion (Eur 440-million). PostGirot subsequently was renamed PlusGirot.
• In May 2002, Nordea bought 54.3% of Polish bank LG Petro Bank for Eur 128-million from Korean conglomerate LG.
• In June 2002, Nordea sold its general insurance business to Tryg I Danmark for Eur 760-million.
• In June 2004, Nordea bought Kredyt Bank's operations in Lithuania.
• In September 2004, Nordea participated in the capital increase of Russia’s International Moscow Bank (IMB) for USD $100-million, raising Nordea’s stake in IMB from 21.7% to 26.4%.
• In June 2005, Nordea bought Sampo Bank’s life insurance and pension business in Poland for Eur 95-million. The purchase included Sampo PTE and Sampo Life.
• In June 2006, Nordea divested its entire 26.4% stake in International Moscow Bank to Italy’s UniCredit SpA. The value of the sale was believed to be about USD $463-million.
• In November 2006, Nordea bought a 75.01% stake in Russia's JSB Orgresbank for Eur 246-million (USD $314-million).
• In March 2008, Nordea sold its global custody business to JPMorgan Chase. The business unit sold administered Eur 200-billion of assets.
• In April 2009, Nordea raised Eur 2.5-billion (USD $3.52-billion) in new capital from a rights issue.
• In August 2009, Nordea bought Fionia Bank from Denmark’s Finansiel Stabilitet A/S. Fionia collapsed early in 2009 after massive loan losses and was nationalized by the Danish government. Nordea gained 29 branches in Denmark from the Fionia purchase, which excluded the bad assets of the bank.
• In June 2013, Nordea sold its Polish bank, life insurance and financing businesses Nordea Bank Polska to Poland's largest bank Bank PKO Polski for Eur 694-million (USD 925-million).
• During the summer of 2016, Nordea approached the Dutch government to acquire the majority-state-owned ABN AMRO, but the Dutch government was not interested in selling its stake. At the time, ABN AMRO had a market value of over EUR 17.0-billion after government partially re-floated the bank in 2016.
• In December 2019, Nordea agreed to purchase Norwegian-based SG Finans from France's Société Générale for EUR 575-million (USD $634-million). SG Finans provides equipment finance and factoring solutions in Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

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