Den norske Bank or DnB was 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 ...

bank that existed between 1990 and 2003 when it merged with

Gjensidige NOR Gjensidige NOR was a Norwegian bank and insurance company that was in existence between 1999 and 2003. The company was created when the two savings banks Sparebanken NOR (bank) and Gjensidige (insurance) were merged in 1999. In 2002 Norwegian s ...

to form DnB NOR (now

DNB ASA DNB ASA (formerly DnB NOR ASA) is Norway's largest financial services group with total combined assets of more than NOK 1.9 trillion and a market capitalisation NOK 164 billion as of 20 May 2016. DNB's head office is located in Oslo. The two ...

). The bank's

headquarter Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

s were in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Norway. DnB was created as a merger between Bergen Bank and

Den norske Creditbank Den norske Creditbank or DnC is a defunct Norwegian commercial bank created in 1857. In 1990 it merged with Bergen Bank to create Den norske Bank (DnB). The bank was based in Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most pop ...

in 1990 after a major

downturn In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

in the economy, especially affecting the banks, who lost vast amounts of money due to misheld loans and falling housing prices. The

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

held a majority ownership in the bank in addition to its being listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. In 1996, DnB bought

Vital Forsikring Vital Forsikring ASA, branded as Vital is Norway's largest life insurance and pension insurance company, and part of the DnB NOR Group. Though Vital has roots back to 1847, it was created in its present form by a merger between Vital and Gjen ...

and in 1999 it

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

with

Postbanken Postbanken (lit. The Postal Bank) was a Norway, Norwegian postal savings bank. The bank offered its services through the Posten (Norway), Norwegian post office. It was first merged into DNB ASA as a subsidiary, and then dissolved in 2011. Histor ...

External links

DNB web site
Defunct banks of Norway Companies formerly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange Formerly government-owned companies of Norway Companies based in Bergen Banks established in 1990 Banks disestablished in 1999 1990 establishments in Norway 1999 disestablishments in Norway {{Norway-gov-stub