SpareBank 1 is a Norwegian

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

and brand name for a group of

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 ...

s. The alliance is organised through the holding company ''SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS'' owned by the participating banks. In total the alliance is Norway's second largest bank with total assets of

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, ...

625 billion, 352 branches and 6300 employees. The alliance has its head office 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 ...

, Norway. The banks in the SpareBank 1 Alliance distribute SpareBank 1 groups' products and collaborate in key areas such as brands, work processes, expertise development, IT operations and system development. Companies in the group include the

mutual fund A mutual fund is an investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase Security (finance), securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV in ...

company ODIN Forvaltning, the life insurance company ''SpareBank 1 Livsforsikring'', the insurance company ''SpareBank 1 Skadeforsikring'', the credit card company ''SpareBank 1 Medlemskort'', ''SpareBank 1 Utvikling'', the commercial

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 ...

''Bank 1 Oslo'', the car finance company ''SpareBank 1 Bilplan'' (19.9%) and the

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

company ''First Securities'' (24.5%).

History

In 1996 the original members of the alliance, Sparebanken SMN, Sparebanken Nord-Norge, Sparebanken Rogaland and Sparebanken Vest founded the alliance, at first (but never branded) as Sparebankgruppen. The same year the company bought the

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typical ...

company DAVID Livsforsikring, now SpareBank 1 Livsforsikring, in addition to part of the

company ODIN Forvaltning, now wholly owned by SpareBank 1. In 1997 the alliance of small savings banks Samarbeidende Sparebanker. In 1998 the Swedish bank FöreningsSparbanken (now

Swedbank Swedbank AB is a Swedish multinational banking group headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. It operates primarily in the Nordic and Baltic regions, offering services such as retail banking, asset management and other financial services. Swedbank ...

) purchased 24% of the company. The same year Sparebank 1 established a credit card company followed in 1999 with the establishment of the

real estate agent Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

''EiendomsMegler 1''. The company also buys part of ''First Securities''. The same year SpareBank 1 purchased ''VÅR Bank'' from the labour union Landsorganisasjonen (LO). This bank was renamed ''Bank 1 Oslo'', with branches in Oslo and

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

while other branches of the bank were taken over by other alliance members. LO acquired at the same time 10% of the stocks in SpareBank 1. In 2003 the first major member of the alliance leaves when Sparebanken Vest sells its shares. In 2006 Sparebanken Hedmark entered the group, while FöreningsSparbanken sold its shares.

Member banks

SpareBank 1 Gruppen is owned by the participating banks. SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge ASA (19.5%), SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge (19.5%), SpareBank 1 SMN (19.5%), SpareBank 1 Østlandet (12.4%) all own part of the company directly while the remaining banks own through Samarbeidende Sparebanker AS (19.5%). The

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

LO (9.6%) also has an ownership in the company. As of May 2025, Samarbeidende Sparebanker consists of: * SpareBank 1 Gudbrandsdal * SpareBank 1 Hallingdal Valdres * SpareBank 1 Helgeland * SpareBank 1 Lom og Skjåk * SpareBank 1 Nordmøre * SpareBank 1 Ringerike Hadeland * SpareBank 1 Sogn og Fjordane *

SpareBank 1 Østfold Akershus SpareBank 1 Østfold Akershus is a Norwegian savings bank, headquartered in Moss, Norway. The banks main market is Østfold and Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located wi ...

Other associates: * BN Bank ASA *Kredittbanken ASA

Sponsorships

Sparebank 1 sponsors the Norwegian

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

football team Viking F.K. The Sparebank 1 logo can be found on the back across the top of the shirt.

External links

SpareBank 1 website
{{Authority control Banking in Norway Companies based in Oslo Organizations established in 1996 Banking organizations 1996 establishments in Norway