Skandinaviska Banken, literally the ''Scandinavian Bank'', was a Swedish bank founded in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a ...

, 1864. Its foundation coincided with the political aspirations of the Scandinavian movement, which sought to unite

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and th ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , established ...

into a single kingdom. Even if these aspirations came to naught, there was a

Scandinavian Monetary Union __NOTOC__ The Scandinavian Monetary Union was a monetary union formed by Denmark and Sweden on 5 May 1873, with Norway joining in 1875. It established a common currency unit, the krone/krona, based on the gold standard. It was one of the few tang ...

, with a common currency, and a union between Sweden and Norway, that the bank potentially would be able to exploit. The bank was founded as Skandinaviska Kreditaktiebolaget, which roughly translates to "Scandinavian Credit Ltd.". During the early 1900s the bank underwent rapid expansion through the following mergers: Industrikreditaktiebolaget i Stockholm in 1907, Skånes Enskilda Bank in 1910, and Sveriges Privata Centralbank in 1917. Furthermore, Skandinaviska Banken acquired Örebro Enskilda Bank in 1918, and Skånska Handelsbanken in 1919. Skandinaviska Kreditaktiebolaget, as it was known as at the time, was the main bank of Swedish businessman

Ivar Kreuger Ivar Kreuger (; 2 March 1880 – 12 March 1932) was a Swedish civil engineer, financier, entrepreneur and industrialist. In 1908, he co-founded the construction company Kreuger & Toll Byggnads AB, which specialized in new building techniques. ...

, the founder of Swedish Match AB, and was struck hard by the financial crisis of the 1930s, triggered in Sweden by the breakdown of Kreuger's concern, due to his untimely death in Paris in 1932. As a result, Skandinaviska Kreditaktiebolaget had to accept stock as payment in several companies unable to repay their credit, as well as a SEK200 million bail-out from the Swedish government. The bank continued to prosper and the bail-out sum was already repaid in 1936, and the new company stocks were transferred into an investment holding company, AB Custos, founded in 1937. In 1939, Skandinaviska Kreditaktiebolaget changed its name to ''Skandinaviska Banken'' and continued its expansion by acquiring local banks throughout the 20th century until 1972, when it merged with Stockholms Enskilda Bank to form

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (, abbreviated SEB, is a northern European financial services group headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. In Sweden and the Baltic countries, SEB has a full financial service offering. In Denmark, Finland, Norway, ...

(SEB), today one of the largest Nordic banks.

References

{{Authority control Defunct banks of Sweden Banks disestablished in 1972 Banks established in 1864 Swedish companies established in 1864 1972 disestablishments in Sweden

See also

References