SpareBank 1 is a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
and brand name for a group of
savings bank
A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits.
They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to al ...
s. The alliance is organised through the holding company ''SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS'' owned by the participating banks. In total the alliance is Norway's second largest bank with total assets of
NOK 625 billion, 352 branches and 6300 employees. The alliance has its head office in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
, Norway. The banks in the SpareBank 1 Alliance distribute SpareBank 1 groups' products and collaborate in key areas such as brands, work processes, expertise development, IT operations and system development.
Companies in the group include the
mutual fund
A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV ...
company
ODIN Forvaltning, the life insurance company ''SpareBank 1 Livsforsikring'', the insurance company ''SpareBank 1 Skadeforsikring'', the
credit card
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...
company ''SpareBank 1 Medlemskort'', ''SpareBank 1 Utvikling'', the commercial
bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
''Bank 1 Oslo'', the car finance company ''SpareBank 1 Bilplan'' (19.9%) and the
securities
A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...
company ''First Securities'' (24.5%).
History
In 1996 the original members of the alliance, Sparebanken SMN, Sparebanken Nord-Norge, Sparebanken Rogaland and
Sparebanken Vest
Sparebanken Vest () is the third largest savings bank in Norway, and the country's second oldest bank. Its predecessor, Bergens Sparebank, was established in 1823. The main offices lie in Bergen, though the bank has branches throughout Hordaland, S ...
founded the alliance, at first (but never branded) as Sparebankgruppen. The same year the company bought the
life insurance company DAVID Livsforsikring, now SpareBank 1 Livsforsikring, in addition to part of the
mutual fund
A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV ...
company
ODIN Forvaltning, now wholly owned by SpareBank 1. In 1997 the alliance of small savings banks Samarbeidende Sparebanker.
In 1998 the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
bank
FöreningsSparbanken
Swedbank AB () is a Nordic- Baltic banking group based in Stockholm, Sweden, offering retail banking, asset management, financial, and other services. In 2019 Swedbank had 900,000 private and 130,000 corporate clients and a 60% market share ...
(now
Swedbank) purchased 24% of the company. The same year Sparebank 1 established a
credit card
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...
company followed in 1999 with the establishment of the
real estate agent
A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...
''EiendomsMegler 1''. The company also buys part of ''First Securities''.
The same year SpareBank 1 purchased ''VÅR Bank'' from the labour union Landsorganisasjonen (LO). This bank was renamed ''Bank 1 Oslo'', with branches in Oslo and
Akershus while other branches of the bank were taken over by other alliance members. LO acquired at the same time 10% of the stocks in SpareBank 1.
In 2003 the first major member of the alliance leaves when Sparebanken Vest sells its shares. In 2006 Sparebanken Hedmark entered the group, while FöreningsSparbanken sold its shares.
Member banks
SpareBank 1 Gruppen is owned by the participating banks.
Sparebanken Hedmark (12%),
SpareBank 1 SMN
SpareBank 1 SMN is a Norwegian savings bank based in Trøndelag.
The bank has 71 branches in 51 municipalities in Central Norway and is part of the bank alliance SpareBank 1. In Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag the bank is branded SpareBank 1 ...
(19.5%),
SpareBank Nord-Norge
SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge is a Norwegian savings bank. The bank has 90 branch offices in Nordland, Tromsø, Finnmark and Svalbard and a head office in Tromsø. It has 250,000 private and 40,000 institutional customers with total assets of NOK 48 bil ...
(19.5%) and
SpareBank 1 SR-Bank (19.5%) all own part of the company directly while the remaining banks own through
Samarbeidende Sparebanker (19.5%). The
labor union Landsorganisasjonen (10%) also has an ownership in the company.
Samarbeidende Sparebanker consists of:
*
SpareBank 1 Buskerud-Vestfold
*
SpareBank 1 Østfold Akershus
*SpareBank 1 Hallingdal
*SpareBank 1 Gudbrandsdal
*
SpareBank 1 Ringerike Hadeland
*
SpareBank 1 Nordvest
SpareBank 1 Nordvest is a Norway, Norwegian savings bank with branches in Nordmøre in addition to Molde and Ålesund. The bank has 11 branch offices with a head office in Kristiansund and has total assets of Norwegian krone, NOK 5 billion. The ba ...
*
SpareBank 1 Nøtterøy–Tønsberg
*SpareBank 1 Telemark
*SpareBank 1 Lom og Skjå
*SpareBank 1 Søre Sunnmøre
Other associates:
*Rygge-Vaaler Sparebank
*BNbank
Sponsorships
Sparebank 1 sponsors the Norwegian
Tippeligaen
Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...
football team
Viking F.K. The Sparebank 1 logo can be found on the back across the top of the shirt.
External links
SpareBank 1 web site
{{Authority control
Banking in Norway
Companies based in Oslo
Organizations established in 1996
Banking organizations
1996 establishments in Norway