Swedish direct bank SkandiaBanken has acquired Din Bank, a pure play Internet and telephone bank in Denmark.
Established in 1991 by Kommunernes Pensionsforsikring, Din Bank claims to be the leading, independent Internet- and telephone-based bank in Denmark, with approximately 30,000 customers, deposits of Dkr1.7 billion, lending of Dkr0.6 billion, and shareholders' equity of Dkr171 million as per year-end 2000.
SkandiaBanken says it will honour existing expansion plans for Din Bank and has set a target of boosting customer numbers to 100,000 by year-end. The deal is expected to close by April.
The acquisition comes ten months after SkandiaBanken first signalled its cross-border ambitions with the opening of a branch office in Norway in April 2000. By year-end 2000 SkandiaBanken Norge had attracted 65,000 customers, representing a market share of approximately six per cent.
In Denmark, Din Bank will face competition from Firstviewbank, a new Internet-only bank set up in collaboration between Swedbank and FIH.