Highlights 2007
January
Nordea’s groupwide trainee programme is ranked among the best in Sweden, and the best in the financial services sector.
February
Nordea Life & Pensions was chosen as one of eight providers to the collectively agreed pensions system ITP in Sweden. The agreement is the most comprehensive ever in the Swedish market and one of the largest at European level. Nordea won the contract in competition with 15 other insurance providers.
Nordea presents its full-year report for 2006, and it was another record year, well ahead of the financial targets. Nordea consolidated the position as the leading bank in the region. Nordea, as the first Nordic bank, starts to implement the Equator Principles, a benchmark for the financial industry to manage social and environmental issues in project financing.
March
Nordea’s acquisition of a 75% stake in JSB Orgresbank in Russia was finalised according to plan. Through this investment, Nordea will capture the growth opportunities in the Russian market.
April
The Annual General Meeting resolves to introduce a Long Term Incentive Programme to retain and attract the key leadership talents comprising up to 400 managers and key employees in the Nordea Group.
Lars G Nordström retires with pension from the position as President and Group CEO of Nordea and is succeeded by Christian Clausen.
Nordea streamlines its organisation with a stronger customer orientation and efficient product and service delivery chain. A new member of Group Executive Management is appointed, Gunn Wærsted. Nordea´s vision and values foundation is revised. The new Nordea vision reads: “The leading Nordic bank, acknowledged for its people, creating superior value for customers and shareholders” and the new values are “Great Customer Experiences”, “It’s all about people” and “One Nordea team”, supported by the foundation in terms of “Profit orientation – cost, risk and capital”.
Risk Magazine awards Nordea the prize Best Nordic Derivative House.
May
The interim report for the first quarter shows that the organic growth strategy gives Nordea continued strong momentum in the business development in all business areas.
June
Nordea receives approval to use its internal credit risk models according to Basel II. The approval applies for the portfolios Corporate and Institutions, which cover more than 50 per cent of Nordea´s credit portfolios. Global Finance Magazine ranks Nordea as the ’Best Treasury and Cash Management Banks and Providers 2007’ in the Nordic region.
July
The Magazine Euromoney awards Nordea the prize for Best Regional Bank in the Nordics and Baltics. In addition, Nordea received five local awards in the annual competition for the world´s best banks.
In the first half year of 2007, Nordea maintains strong growth in total income, the number of gold customers as well as in business volumes as a consequence of the execution of the organic growth strategy.
September
Nordea sets new standards for online employer branding and recruitment with an innovative interactive speed dating tool on the Internet. Nordea increases its credit card base by over 600,000 new cardholders through an agreement with Stockmann, the Finnish retail trader.
October
Nordea increases its distribution capacity through an agreement with the company Svensk Kassaservice, a subsidiary to Posten, the Swedish postal service. 76 new branches will from 1 July 2008 be established at locations where Svensk Kassaservice has operations and Nordea has many of its customers. Statoil MasterCard, a cooperation project with Nordea, won a prestigious prize at MasterCard International’s annual Co-Branding conference: ’Best long-term achievement and usage 2007’.
Nordea´s organic growth strategy delivered strong results also for the third quarter. Total income and the number of customers in prioritised segments as well as business volumes continued to increase. Nordea experienced very limited impact from the market turmoil in the third quarter.
November
Nordea introduces guidelines for socially responsible investments, SRI, within Asset Management. Nordea receives the award Best Provider of Syndicated Loans for the Shipping Industry at the 20th Annual Lloyd’s Shipping Conference. Nordea strengthened its presence in the Norwegian real estate agency business by its purchase of the real estate agency chain, PRIVATmegleren.
December
Nordea and Standard & Poor’s renegotiated the agreement from 2004 regarding equity research. Standard & Poor’s will concentrate on fulfilling the requirements of Nordea’s Private banking and retail customers. Nordea will in-source the institutional equity research.
Nordea opens a new branch in Malmö with both Danish and Swedish staff, which offers special advice to Danes moving to Sweden but continuing to work in Denmark. All in all, Nordea has opened 65 new branches in New European Markets during the year.
Source: Annual Report 2007