Betri Banki (formerly Føroya Sparikassi and Eik Banki) is a

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

group in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

, which was previously one of the two major privately owned banking firms based in the country. Established in 1832, the group, which also operated in mainland

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, encompassed

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

corporate A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of s ...

and

investment banking Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by und ...

activities as well as real estate

brokerage A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller. This may be done for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neith ...

. The company was

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with ...

by Denmark in October 2010 after becoming

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet in ...

, with its Danish

retail banking Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking (corporate ...

operations being sold later in the year to the regional bank Sparekassen Lolland.

History

Føroya Sparikassi (now Betri banki) was established in 1832 as a

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks ha ...

. In 1992 it was transferred into a

guarantor In finance, a surety , surety bond, or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a person or company (a ''sure ...

savings bank, and in 2002, it was converted to a

public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth jurisdictions, and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a limited liability co ...

. In 2006, it changed its name to Eik Banki, and on 11 July 2007, it was listed on the Icelandic and Danish

stock exchanges A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an Exchange (organized market), exchange where stockbrokers and stock trader, traders can buy and sell security (finance), securities, such as share (finance), shares of stock, Bond (finance) ...

as Eik Banki P/F. In Denmark, Eik Banki founded a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

bank, Eik Bank Danmark A/S. In 2007, Eik Bank Danmark acquired the Swedish Skandiabanken branch in Denmark. Skandiabanken is the leading Danish internet bank in Denmark, with around 120,000 customers. Skandiabanken was merged into Eik Bank Danmark in December 2007. In the same month Eik Bank acquired the Faroese operations of

Kaupthing Bank Kaupthing Bank (, ) was a major international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was taken over by the Icelandic government during the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the domestic Icelandic-based operations were ...

. The company and its Danish subsidiary were taken over by the Danish banking regulator in October 2010 after failing to meet

solvency Solvency, in finance or business, is the degree to which the current assets of an individual or entity exceed the current liabilities of that individual or entity. Solvency can also be described as the ability of a corporation to meet its long- ...

requirements set by the Financial Supervisory Authority. Trading in the company's shares and bonds was suspended on the news, and Eik Banki's listing on the Nasdaq OMX Iceland exchange was subsequently cancelled. Subsequently 70% of the bank's shares were sold to Tórshavn based ''TF Holding'' for DKK 572 million. The bank later became Betri bank. Three of Eik's managers were fined DKK 150 million in 2019. The retail banking operations of the company in mainland Denmark (Eik Bank Danmark A/S) were sold by the state to the regional bank Sparekassen Lolland for DKK 365 million on 17 December 2010.{{cite news, last=Durhan, first=Erik, title=Sparekassen Lolland A/S Acquires Eik Bank Retail Business , url=https://www.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101217-707067.html, access-date=31 December 2010, newspaper=

The Wall Street Journal Europe ''The Wall Street Journal Europe'' was a daily English-language newspaper that covered global and regional business news for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Published by the Dow Jones & Company, a News Corp company, it formed as a pa ...

, date=17 December 2010, agency=

Dow Jones Newswires Dow Jones & Company, Inc. (also known simply as Dow Jones) is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp, and led by CEO Almar Latour. The company publishes ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''Barron's'', ''MarketWatch'', ''Mansion Global'', ' ...

On 21 March, 2017, the bank changed its name again, this time to Betri Banki. Its parent company, TF Holding changed its name to Betri, and subsequently Eik banki changed its name to Betri Banki, and Tryggingarfelag Føroya to Betri Trygging.

Operations

After the sale of Eik Banki's Danish retail banking operations in December 2010, the company's principal remaining businesses are a

and

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

ing network in the Faroe Islands and ownership of the leading Faroese real estate

broker A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller. This may be done for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither ...

age company, Inni P/F.

References

External links

*Betri Banki officia
website
Bank failures Banks of the Faroe Islands Banks established in 1832 Danish companies established in 1832