– We are very satisfied with the result and what we achieved together last year, and we are happy that in 2023 we will also have the opportunity to distribute a significant amount of profits to the local communities and owners, says CEO Bear. Halvorsen in a press release.
900 million Norwegian krone
Last year, the bank made profits of more than NOK 1.3 billion after taxes and losses, and now the board of directors of Sparebank 1 Sørøst-Norge proposes to distribute almost NOK 1 billion.
– The Board of Directors proposes a dividend distribution to holders of EK certificates and a social capital gift of approximately NOK 900 million. The largest owners are five savings bank institutions, which distribute large sums for local purposes in the market areas of Telemark, Vestfold and Lower Buskerud, the bank said.
Must be merged
It was announced last fall that the bank would merge with SpareBank 1 SR-Bank to form SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge. The bank stated in the press release that the merger date has now been set at October 1 this year, given that the authorities have given the green light to the merger.
The new financial group will have deep roots in savings banks and will be present in local communities with greater competitiveness, which will benefit companies and private clients. We will also create many attractive jobs in our region, and we aim to contribute to the establishment of more companies here in the future, says Per Halvorsen.
The bank states that they will then have 65 locations in southern Norway and around 2,300 employees.
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