It takes a brave financial regulator to wade into the morass of bank ownership reform. But that’s exactly what Ulrik Nødgaard, director-general of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA), did earlier this year, when he called on Denmark’s banks to get out of their ruts and speed up the consolidation process of the country’s fragmented banking sector.
Despite the serial upheavals of the still-unfolding financial crisis, bankers remain a territorially conservative bunch and Mr Nødgaard’s foray into this sensitive arena drew a furious response – particularly from those smaller banks that have weathered the storm.
