Arbejdernes Landsbank () is a Danish bank founded in 1919 with approximately 250,000 customers and 1,075 employees. It is the 7th largest bank in Denmark. As of 2014 the bank has 70 branches in Denmark.

History

The bank was founded by Danish trade unions, the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

and Arbejderkul (union of coal workers) with an initial capital of DKK 2 million, most of which was pledged by Arbejderkul, who were particularly powerful after performing a crucial role in securing Denmark's energy supply during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Although the bank was officially a public company, the shares could not be listed and remained with the labour movement. In practice the bank operated as a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

. During the

great depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, major shareholder Arbejderkul ran into trouble and the trade union federation joined the ownership of the bank. In the 1960s the bank went through a major growth period, attracting new private customers and many independent branches were opened throughout Denmark. In 1986, ALFINA was bought and later renamed to AL Finans A/S. The bank also owns a share in . As of 2014, the bank has 24,000 private shareholders, although the trade unions remain the major shareholders.

Customer satisfaction

In customer satisfaction studies among Danish banks, Arbejdernes Landsbank is consistently ranked as the highest rated bank.

Sponsorships

AL is one of the main sponsors of the Danish women's national handball team. On July 1, 2016, AL became the principal sponsor of the football side

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional association football club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was p ...

in a four-year deal. AL sponsors shirts for AGF and

FC Midtjylland FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Su ...

and has been a Super Partner of

FC Nordsjælland Football Club Nordsjælland, commonly known as FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland () or FCN, is a professional Danish football team from the North Zealand town of Farum. Founded as ''Farum Boldklub'' from the merger of the town's two football club ...

since July 2011. AL is also sponsoring Giv Håb, an organisation that supports children who experience serious disease or death in their immediate family. AL supports

Danish film Denmark has been producing films since 1897 and since the 1980s has maintained a steady stream of product due largely to funding by the state-supported Danish Film Institute. Historically, Danish films have been noted for their realism, religiou ...

as a sponsor of the "Bag om filmen"-programme.

References

{{Members of Euro Banking Association

External links

Bank Profile: Arbejdernes Landsbank
Banks of Denmark Financial services companies based in Copenhagen Companies based in Copenhagen Municipality Banks established in 1919 Danish companies established in 1919 Labour movement in Denmark