Kaupthing reinforced its leading position among local banks with exceptional financial results and growth. Net profits have increased by 110%, assets have grown by 175% with return on equity at 23%.
In the second quarter of 2004, Kaupthing acquired Danish bank FIH-Erhvervsbank, significantly enlarging the Islandic bank’s balance sheet and leading to a rating upgrade by Moody’s within 12 months to A1. Furthermore, Kaupthing is expanding its exposure in Luxembourg, with the acquisition of PFA Pension Luxembourg, and in the UK with its newly founded New Bond Street Asset Management and with the announced acquisition of corporate bank Singer & Friedlander.
“This award underlines Kaupthing Bank’s strong standing on the Icelandic market,” says CEO Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson.
“We are steadily reinforcing our market position by offering our customers a broad range of new options. For example, the new home mortgages that we introduced last year broke the government’s decades long monopoly in that sector and revolutionised home financing in Iceland. At the same time, we are gaining momentum on other markets, such as the Nordic countries and the UK. We have experienced brisk growth in our operations, and at the same time profitability has been most satisfactory. This has contributed to our growing financial strength, as reflected in recent credit rating upgrades.”
