Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse, branded domestically as Kreditkassen or K-Bank and internationally as Christiania Bank+ was a Norwegian

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

that existed between 1848 and 2000 when it

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

with MeritaNordbanken and became

Nordea Nordea Bank Abp, commonly referred to as Nordea, is a Nordic financial services group operating in northern Europe with headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. The name is a blend of the words "Nordic" and "idea". The Nordic countries are considered ...

. The bank had its headquarters in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and was Norway's second largest bank at the time of the merger. Christiania Bank had branch offices in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, New York, and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

History

The bank was founded in Oslo (then called Christiania) in 1848 as Christiania Kreditkasse, though changed its name to Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse in 1862. In 1858, the bank moved out of its temporary location at the home of the bank manager, Fritz Henrich Frölich, and to permanent locations. It opened branches in 1897, under the directorship of Peter Harboe Castberg The bank expanded out of Oslo in 1957 when it bought Elverum Kreditbank and Hamar Privatbank, and in 1959 with the acquisition of Agder Bank. By 1965, the bank had 18 offices outside Oslo. In 1973, the bank opened its first international office, in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. In the 1980s, the bank further acquired Andresens Bank (in 1980), Vestfoldbanken (in 1981) and Fiskernes Bank (in 1983). In the last years of the 1980s, there was a major financial crisis in Norway and by 1991 the bank had used up all capital. To save the bank, the

Government of Norway The Council of State () is a formal body composed of the most senior government minister (government), ministers chosen by the Prime Minister of Norway, Prime Minister, and functions as the collective decision-making organ constituting the Go ...

took over the bank and gave it new capital, rescuing it from

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

. In the early years of the 1990s, the bank also bought Sunnmørsbanken and Sørlandsbanken. In 1995, the government reduced its ownership to 51%, listing it on the

Oslo Stock Exchange Oslo Stock Exchange () (OSE: OSLO) is a stock exchange within the Nordic countries and offers Norway's only regulated markets for securities trading today. The stock exchange offers a full product range including equities, derivatives and fixed ...

, and in 1999 to 35%. The same year, the Swedish MeritaNordbanken bid for the bank, and in 2000 the government sold its shares and the bank became part of Nordea. Christiania Bank was at the time of the merger with Nordea Norway's oldest existing bank.

External links

Nordea web site

History of the bank
{{Authority control Defunct banks of Norway Companies based in Oslo Banks established in 1848 Banks disestablished in 2000 Companies formerly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange Formerly government-owned companies of Norway 2000 disestablishments in Norway Norwegian companies established in 1848