Nordea to relocate HQ to Helsinki

The Sweden-based Nordea Bank AB on Wednesday decided to relocate its headquarters to Helsinki from Stockholm.

The Nordea board of directors at a meeting took the decision regarding the re-domiciliation of the parent company to Finland, said a press release.

The operations in all Nordic home markets, however, will remain unchanged and there will be no change in day-to-day operations from a customer perspective.

Only a limited number of employees are expected to be affected and Nordea will continue to be a major tax payer in all the four home markets.

“The Board’s decision to initiate the re-domiciliation of the parent company to Finland is the outcome of six months of careful study and analysis of the competitive conditions and challenges facing Nordea. We see the move as an important strategic step in positioning Nordea on a par with its European peers,” said Nordea Chairman Björn Wahlroos.

The resolution and deposit guarantee fees for 2018 are expected to increase by approximately EUR 60-200m compared to 2017 and for 2019 the fees are expected to be approximately EUR 60-150m higher compared to 2017.

The final outcome is, among other things, depending on the exact timing of the re-domiciliation. Nordea expects that the net present value of resolution fees, deposit guarantees and other transitional effects will be positive by approximately EUR 1,000-1,100m.

The Nordea share will remain listed on the stock exchanges of Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen.

The re-domiciliation is intended to be carried out by way of a downstream cross-border merger through which Nordea Bank AB (publ) will be merged into a newly established Finnish subsidiary. The merger is planned to be effected during the second half of 2018 and will be subject to e.g. the necessary regulatory approvals and the shareholders’ approval at a general meeting.