Glitnir was an international

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

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 ...

. It was created by the state-directed merger of the country's three privately held banks - ''Alþýðubanki'' (Union Bank), ''Verzlunarbanki'' (Bank of Commerce) and ''Iðnaðarbanki'' (Industrial Bank) - and one failing publicly held bank - ''Útvegsbanki'' (Fisheries Bank) - to form ''Íslandsbanki'' in 1990. At the time, ''Íslandsbanki'' was the only major privately held commercial bank in Iceland. It was publicly listed on the

Iceland Stock Exchange The Nasdaq Iceland, formerly known as the Iceland Stock Exchange (ICEX) ( ), is a stock exchange for Icelandic bonds and equities. Companies in sectors such as retail, fishing, transportation, banking and real estate are listed on the exchange. ...

, in 1993. ''Íslandsbanki'' subsequently merged with FBA Icelandic Investment Bank in 2000. On 20 February 2009, in light of the Icelandic financial crisis, the bank's name was changed back to the original

Íslandsbanki Íslandsbanki (, ) is an Icelandic bank with roots tracing back to 1875, formerly being the domestic part of Glitnir (bank), Glitnir banki hf., but on 15 October 2008 being split from the bankrupt Glitnir and reestablished into a new independent ...

. By 15 October 2009, it was decided that 95% of the new

would be taken over by the creditors of Old Glitnir, while the government of

would retain ownership of the remaining 5%.

Ownership

A third of the company was owned by Stodir. A large share of Stodir was controlled by

Baugur Group Baugur Group (; Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic investment company. The group began as a supermarket and general retail company in Iceland, before diversifying to own a number of businesses at its peak, primarily in the United Kingdom. Baugur was ...

which (reportedly by a number of companies) has an address in a single mailbox in the British Virgin Islands.

Overview of operations

The financial group Glitnir offered universal banking and was a leading niche player in three global segments; seafood/food,

sustainable energy Energy system, Energy is sustainability, sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the e ...

, and offshore supply vessels. Glitnir operated branches 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 ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, and had representative offices in

Halifax, Canada Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the Halifax CMA was 530,167, with 348,634 ...

and in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Services included retail, corporate and investment banking, stock trade and capital management. Glitnir also had a fully owned bank 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 ...

(Glitnir Bank Luxembourg S.A) and banks and financial services companies in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Glitnir considered

and

its home markets. Since 2004, Glitnir had acquired

BNbank BN Bank ASA, formerly known as Bolig- og Næringsbanken, is a Norwegian commercial bank based in Trondheim with a branch office in Oslo. Owned by the SpareBank 1-alliance, the bank has 50,000 customers and total assets of NOK 48 billion. The b ...

and Glitnir bank (previously ''Kredittbanken''), Glitnir Securities (previously ''Norse Securities'') and Glitnir Kapitalforvaltning, the factoring company Glitnir Factoring (previously ''FactoNor''), and 50.1 percent of Union Gruppen in Norway. In addition, Glitnir's subsidiary BNbank acquired 45 per cent of the shares in

Norsk Privatøkonomi ASA Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

, an independent financial advisory company with 12 branches in key areas of Norway, in July 2006. Glitnir continued to expand its operations in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

. In

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, Glitnir owns the leading Swedish brokerage firm Glitnir AB (formerly ''Fischer Partners''). The acquisition of 68.1 per cent of the shares in the Finnish investment fir
FIM
was announced in early February 2007 and completed later in the spring of 2007. Glitnir announced strong profits for 2006, with a return on equity after tax of 39.4 per cent.

Government takes control

On October 7, 2008, the Government of

nationalised Glitnir by acquiring a 75% share in the bank for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

600 million through the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority. The government stated that it did not intend to keep the ownership of the bank for a long-term period. The Norwegian subsidiary of Glitnir Bank, Glitnir Bank ASA, was sold for

NOK Nok is a village in Jaba, Nigeria, Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, ...

300 million on October 21, 2008, or ISK 5.5 billion, but its current worth is estimated at ISK 36.5 billion. Glitnir Bank ASA was bought by 20 savings banks. The takeover was led by Finn Haugan, the managing director of

Sparebanken Midt-Norge SpareBank 1 SMN is a Norwegian savings bank based in Trøndelag. The bank has 71 branches in 51 municipalities in Central Norway and is part of the bank alliance SpareBank 1. In Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag the bank is branded SpareBank ...

which acquired a 25-percent stake in the bank. SpareBank 1 SMN is headquartered in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

and is Central Norway's largest financial group.

Glitnir management

Lárus Welding Larus is a large genus of gulls with worldwide distribution Larus or Lárus may also refer to: * Larus ''Larus'' is a large genus of gulls with worldwide distribution (by far the greatest species diversity is in the Northern Hemisphere). Ma ...

was the chief executive officer of Glitnir when the bank was taken into government administration late September 2008. The chief executive officer, appointed by the bank's board of directors, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the bank pursuant to the policy and resolutions of the board of directors. It is also the task of the CEO to ensure that the bank's operations are at all times consistent with the articles of association of the company and applicable legislation. Thorsteinn M. Jonsson was elected chairman of the board in April 2007.

Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson Þorsteinn is an Old Norse and Icelandic masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Þorsteinn Eiríksson (X century), the youngest son of Erik the Red *Þorsteinn Erlingsson (1858–1914), Icelandic poet *Þorsteinn Gylfason (194 ...

was elected chairman of the board in February 2008.

References

External links