The two largest locally owned banks in Norway, DnB Group and Gjensidige NOR, have vowed to fight the Norwegian Competition Authority’s preliminary ruling against their planned merger.
“We are convinced the merger will be in the best interests of our customers and that it will thus be approved and implemented after consideration by all relevant government authorities,” said group chief executives Olav Hytta and Svein Aaser, in a joint statement. “This is the last chance to establish a financial services group based in Norway that is able to meet the growing competition in the Nordic financial sector and has the necessary strength to ensure that important decisions concerning Norwegian companies and households will still be made in Norway.’’
