Arbejdernes Landsbank () is a Danish bank founded in 1919 with approximately 250,000 customers and 1,075 employees. It is the 7th largest bank in Denmark. As of 2014 the bank has 70 branches in Denmark.

History

The bank was founded by Danish trade unions, the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

and Arbejderkul (union of coal workers) with an initial capital of DKK 2 million, most of which was pledged by Arbejderkul, who were particularly powerful after performing a crucial role in securing Denmark's energy supply during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Although the bank was officially a public company, the shares could not be listed and remained with the labour movement. In practice the bank operated as a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, major shareholder Arbejderkul ran into trouble and the trade union federation joined the ownership of the bank. In the 1960s the bank went through a major growth period, attracting new private customers and many independent branches were opened throughout Denmark. In 1986, ALFINA was bought and later renamed to AL Finans A/S. The bank also owns a share in . As of 2014, the bank has 24,000 private shareholders, although the trade unions remain the major shareholders.

Customer satisfaction

In customer satisfaction studies among Danish banks, Arbejdernes Landsbank is consistently ranked as the highest rated bank.

Sponsorships

AL is one of the main sponsors of the Danish women's national handball team. On 1 July 2016 AL became the principal sponsor of the football side

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a Danish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Brøndbyvester. Brøndby IF denotes the professional football section of Brøndbyernes ...

in a four-year deal. AL sponsors shirts for AGF and

FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...

and has been a Super Partner of FC Nordsjælland since July 2011. AL is also sponsoring Giv Håb, an organisation that supports children who experience serious disease or death in their immediate family. AL supports Danish film as a sponsor of the "Bag om filmen"-programme.

References

{{Members of Euro Banking Association

External links

Bank Profile: Arbejdernes Landsbank
Banks of Denmark Financial services companies based in Copenhagen Companies based in Copenhagen Municipality Banks established in 1919 Danish companies established in 1919 Labour movement in Denmark