Debate, Business | Yes, we were disappointed when Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane chose Oslo over Western Norway!

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The editor at Ferda is absolutely right. We had a very bad day at work when it became known that our good partner and competitor, Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane, would join the SpareBank 1 alliance. Why? Because they chose Oslo over Western Norway.

denunciation of Sberbank 1. In 2004 Sparebanken Vest withdrew from SpareBank 1. It was not right to be part of an alliance in which national ambition was more important than regional ambition. We didn’t want a development where we created an environment of great efficiency in Oslo, rather than efficiency in our own bank.

After quitting, we haven’t looked back. We have done our best to contribute to a strong Vestland. Our ambition is to build alliances on the coast. That’s why we’ve also been busy getting Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane into a Frende collaboration, even if it’s not as popular among our skilled advisors who compete with Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane every day.

Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane in Oslo. Therefore, it is disappointing that a powerful local bank in Western Norway would now choose Oslo over Western Norway. Sparebanken Midt-Norge before the Sparebanken jacket. Trondheim before Bergen.

NOK 630 million (29 times 2022 earnings) for a 2.54% ownership in SpareBank1 Gruppa in Oslo is also much less than the size of the bank would suggest. By comparison, Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane currently owns 10% of Frende Forsikring.

Does it matter where you come from? We believe it is important where you come from and with whom you forge alliances. It is important where our parliamentary representatives come from, and it is important with whom you work.

Therefore, together with other savings banks along the coast, we have built very good product suppliers and nearly 500 financial workplaces in Western Norway with Frende Forsikring, Brage Finans and Norne Securities. In addition, today we are approx. 150 more jobs in Sparebanken Vest than if we were members of the SpareBank 1 Alliance, and paid significant fees for joint services in the Alliance. We know Western Norway has to be built with strength from the strong players along the coast. If we don’t prioritize Western Norway, who will?

An alternative to SpareBank 1? We see that the fear of a large monopolistic bank in Western Norway has been used as an argument against a merger between Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane and us. But now and in the future, all customers who have a personal computer or mobile phone can choose the bank that they think is best and has the best terms. The question is rather whether the western lands of the future should have a powerful regional bank or whether the future business along the coast should be unilaterally in the hands of a credit committee in Oslo, Stockholm or Helsinki. What would it look like if we actually built a strong bank in western Norway in competition with DNB, Danske Bank and Nordea?

Such a merger would, for example, according to our calculations, give Sparebankstiftinga Sogn og Fjordane about 42% to 45% of the bank’s listed equity. Sogn og Fjordane was by far the bank’s largest landlord with a dominant influence, not least on the development of a strong efficiency environment in Førde. Shouldn’t this option have been considered?

It’s not too late. We have always respected the fact that every bank should evaluate who they want to work with. At the same time, we thought that the good relationship we had with Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane in recent years meant that we were invited to discuss other alternatives before deciding to leave the alternative Westland.

We are confident that we will find very good solutions for customers and the region. It is never too late to conduct such investigations.

The biggest loser is Vestlandet. But we fear the train has left by now. Unfortunately, western Norway and the business community along the coast will be the biggest losers in the long run. The alternative could be two banks or one strong bank with local roots, where regional ambition is more important than a national bank. A strong banking alternative based on the partners of the Norwegian Western Alliance. A powerful force in western Norway in an ever greater central confrontation. A clear voice for the coast at a time when perhaps it has never been more important.