Glitnir (bank)

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[edit] History of Glitnir

Glitnir is one of the three major commercial banks of Iceland. 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 (The 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 Kauphöll Íslands, the Iceland Stock Exchange, in 1993. Íslandsbanki subsequently merged with FBA - The Icelandic Investment Bank in 2000.

Currently the financial group Glitnir offers universal banking and is a leading niche player in three global segments; seafood/food, sustainable energy, and offshore supply vessels. Glitnir operates branches in London and Copenhagen, and has representative offices in Halifax, Canada and in Shanghai, China. Services include retail, corporate and investment banking, stock trade and capital management. Glitnir is the sole owner of a bank in Luxembourg (Glitnir Bank Luxembourg S.A) and banks and financial services companies in Norway.

Glitnir considers Iceland and Norway its home markets. Since 2004, Glitnir has acquired BNbank 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, an independent financial advisory company with 12 branches in key areas of Norway in July 2006.

Glitnir continues to expand its operations in the Nordic region. In Sweden, 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 firm FIM (www.fim.com) was announced in early February 2007 (government approvals pending).

Glitnir recently announced strong profits for 2006, with a return on equity after tax of 39.4 per cent.

[edit] Glitnir Management

Bjarni Ármannsson

Bjarni Ármannsson is the Chief Executive Officer of Glitnir. 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.

Since appointed CEO in 2000, Bjarni Ármannsson has seen the group's assets growing from EUR 3.8 billion to EUR 17 billion by the autumn of 2005. In 1997, Bjarni was appointed the CEO of FBA (The Icelandic Investment Bank) when four government credit funds were merged. Following privatisation, FBA merged with Íslandsbanki in 2000. From 1994-1997, Bjarni was the Deputy CEO and later the CEO of Kaupthing investment bank.