DNB Livsforsikring AS (“DNB Liv”) – a wholly owned subsidiary of DNB ASA – has today accepted Euronext’s offer to buy all of the 8.522.045 shares that DNB Liv holds in Oslo Børs VPS Holding ASA, meaning that DNB Liv’s total shareholding is reduced from 19.82 per cent to 0. The accepted offer price is NOK 158 per share plus interest payment (which amounts to approximately NOK 3 per share). 

For further information please contact:
Rune Helland, Head of Investor Relations, tlf. 23 26 84 00 / 977 13 250
Thomas Midteide, Group Executive VP, Media & Marketing, 962 32 017

Oslo (13 June 2019) The Board of Directors of DNB has appointed Kjerstin Braathen as new Group Chief Executive of DNB. Rune Bjerke has notified the Board that he wishes to step down as of 1 September, after nearly 13 years as head of DNB. The Chair of the Board, the present CEO and the newly appointed CEO will meet the press today at 10:00 a.m. in DNB’s head office in Bjørvika. 

The Board of Directors of DNB has carried out an extensive process to find the right person to take over the baton from Rune Bjerke.

"The Board has been looking for the most eligible candidate to lead DNB on the next leg of the race. We have found the perfect candidate, and we are very happy that Kjerstin has agreed to take on this task. DNB is an institution of great importance to society. Therefore, we need a CEO who helps build a high level of trust from society, who promotes good customer experiences and who ensures high profitability so that the bank can invest in growth and new products," says Chair of the Board Olaug Svarva.

The Board started the process of finding Rune’s replacement this winter, and has considered several good candidates.

"In the Board’s view, it is a great advantage to have found an internal successor with 20 years’ experience from DNB. We are confident that Kjerstin, along with all the skilled employees in DNB, will continue to develop great products and services for our customers," says Olaug Svarva.

Kjerstin Braathen is leaving the position as Chief Financial Officer in DNB, and before that, held the position as Group Executive Vice President for Corporate Banking. She worked in the bank’s department for shipping and offshore for 13 years, and has been Chair of the Board of several of DNB’s wholly-owned subsidiaries. Kjerstin comes from Lillestrøm north of Oslo, is married and has three children.

"I feel incredibly privileged to be given the opportunity to lead this super strong DNB team. We have a major corporate responsibility, and DNB is important to and for customers all over Norway. We are there for our customers through all important phases of life, and we root for those who dare follow their dreams, thereby creating jobs and value for society. I am really looking forward to 1 September," says Kjerstin Braathen.

Rune Bjerke has been Group Chief Executive of DNB since 1 January 2007. From 2008 until today, DNB has shown the best value development of the 30 largest European banks. DNB has gone from being the fifth largest bank in Scandinavia to becoming the largest in terms of market value.

"I would like to congratulate the Board on making such a good recruitment choice, and I want to thank everyone in DNB for all the fantastic experiences I’ve had working in the bank. There hasn’t been one boring day at work, and every single day, I’ve met new customers and employees who have reaffirmed my faith in our project. It’s great to finish off this leg of the race seeing that our customers and investors also seem to believe in what we have been working with over the past few years," Rune finishes off.

"Rune has made an impressive effort for DNB and has implemented a number of major changes, both culturally and financially. Today, DNB is a solid and profitable bank that is also able to create future-oriented services, as demonstrated through the development of Vipps. The Board is extremely grateful for the efforts Rune has put in over many years," says Olaug Svarva.

According to his employment contract, Rune Bjerke was to step down by the summer
of 2020.

Invitation to press conference:
Chair of the Board Olaug Svarva, the present Group Chief Executive Rune Bjerke and the newly appointed Group Chief Executive Kjerstin Braathen will meet the press in DNB’s premises in Bjørvika today at 10:00 a.m. Attendees are kindly asked to be there a little in advance. Individual interviews will be given after the press conference.

New photos of Kjerstin Braathen are freely available to the press here: https://www.dnbnyheter.no/bildebank/kjerstin-r-braathen/ 

Graph showing the value development of European banks over the last 10 years: https://www.dnbnyheter.no/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Avkastning-europeiske-banker.png

CV Kjerstin Braathen

Chief Financial Officer, DNB
2017 – Present

Group Executive Vice President of Corporate Banking, DNB
2013 – 2017

Several positions in shipping & offshore, DNB
1999 – 2013

Trainee and Chartering Manager, Norsk Hydro ASA
1995 – 1999

Yesterday, Norges Bank raised the key policy rate by 0.25 percentage points. DNB has today decided to increase the interest rates on home mortgages by up to 0.25 percentage points.  

"Interest rates have been low for an extended period of time, and the Norwegian economy is still doing well. It was also both expected and forewarned that Norges Bank would raise the key policy rate at the meeting on 20 June,” says Ingjerd Blekeli Spiten, Group Executive Vice President of Personal Banking in DNB.  

"We will continue to prioritise customers who own or buy energy-efficient housing, and green home mortgages will get our best indicative interest rate of 2.69 per cent. At the same time, we want to help young customers enter the housing market by offering them good interest rates,” she says. 

For existing customers, the interest rate adjustments will become effective as of 8 August. All customers whose interest rates will be adjusted, will be given information in the Internet bank or receive a letter by regular mail, explaining how their mortgage will be affected. 

Finanstilsynet (the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway) has imposed a non-compliance fee of approx. EUR 30 000 on DNB's subsidiary DNB Næringsmegling AS (commercial real estate brokerage), following an on-site inspection of the company's compliance with the anti-money laundering regulations. No money laundering activities or attempted money laundering activities were found in the inspection. 

Finanstilsynet conducted an on-site inspection of DNB Næringsmegling AS and several other companies in the real estate brokerage industry, in December 2018. Finanstilsynet found the company’s procedures related to matters such as employee training and control routines to be inadequate. The company only has operations in Norway. 

“We take the comments from Finanstilsynet very seriously. In the last six months we have introduced a number of measures aimed at strengthening the anti-money laundering efforts of the company, and have put in place specific measures to address the issues raised by Finanstilsynet” says Managing Director of DNB Næringsmegling Anne Helene Mortensen. 

DNB will publish its results for the second quarter of 2019 on Thursday 11 July 2019 at 7.30 a.m. CET.

11 July at 9:30 a.m. CET: press conference in English accessible via live web TV
Place: DNB's head office in Bjørvika, Dronning Eufemias gate 30, Oslo. A live broadcast will be available on the Investor Relations pages at ir.dnb.no.
Please register your attendance in Oslo by email to [email protected].
The press conference will be held in English.

11 July at 1:30 pm CET: conference call for analysts and investors
To attend the conference call: (+47) 21 56 33 18, or international line: (+44) (0) 20 30 03 26 66. Password: DNB Q2.
The phone conference (listen-only mode) and a recording of this will be available on the Investor Relations pages at ir.dnb.no.

12 July at 07:45 am GMT for 08:00 start: breakfast conference for analysts in London
Place: DNB Bank ASA, 8th Floor, The Walbrook Building, 25 Walbrook, London EC4N 8AF
Please register your attendance in London by email to [email protected]
Representatives of the Group management will present the results followed by a Q&A session.

For further information:
Investor contacts:
Rune Helland, head of Investor Relations, tel. (+47) 23 26 84 00 / (+47) 977 13 250
Thor Tellefsen, head of Long-term Funding, tel. (+47) 24 16 91 22 / (+47) 915 44 385

Media contact:
Thomas Midteide, head of Media & Marketing, tel. (+47) 962 32 017


This information is subject to the disclosure requirements according to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

Approval of new share buy-back:

In DNB ASA’s annual general meeting held 30 April 2019, it was resolved to grant the board of directors a new authorization to repurchase own shares. The authorization has a limit of 4.0 per cent of the share capital calculated after completion of the already resolved capital reduction, whereof 0.5 per cent can only be used for hedging purposes by DNB Markets.

Following the general meeting, DNB ASA applied for the Norwegian FSA's approval to buy back own shares up to 2.5 per cent of the share capital, whereof 0.5 per cent will be reserved DNB Markets for hedging purposes.  The FSA has approved DNB’s application, provided that the targeted capital level is met following the repurchase. For further information, please contact:

Investor contact: Rune Helland, head of Investor Relations, tel. (+47) 23 26 84 00 / (+47) 977 13 250

In the second quarter of 2019, the DNB Group will recognise a positive effect of NOK 740 million from basis swaps connected to funding. Furthermore, a negative effect of NOK 125 million from the Additional Tier 1 capital will also be recognised.

For further information, please contact:
Rune Helland, head of Investor Relations, tel. (+47) 23 26 84 00 / (+47) 977 13 250

DNB will publish its results for the second quarter of 2019 on Thursday 11 July 2019 at 7.30 a.m. CET.

11 July at 9:30 a.m. CET: press conference in English accessible via live web TV
Place: DNB's head office in Bjørvika, Dronning Eufemias gate 30, Oslo. A live broadcast will be available on the Investor Relations pages at ir.dnb.no.
Please register your attendance in Oslo by email to [email protected].
The press conference will be held in English.

11 July at 1:30 pm CET: conference call for analysts and investors
To attend the conference call: (+47) 21 56 33 18, or international line: (+44) (0) 20 30 03 26 66.
Password: DNB Q2.
The phone conference (listen-only mode) and a recording of this will be available on the Investor Relations pages at ir.dnb.no.

12 July at 07:45 am GMT for 08:00 start: breakfast conference for analysts in London
Place: DNB Bank ASA, 8th Floor, The Walbrook Building, 25 Walbrook, London EC4N8AF
Please register your attendance in London by email to [email protected]
Representatives of the Group management will present the results followed by a Q&A session.

For further information:
Investor contacts:
Rune Helland, head of Investor Relations, tel. (+47) 23 26 84 00 / (+47) 977 13 250
Thor Tellefsen, head of Long-term Funding, tel. (+47) 24 16 91 22 / (+47) 915 44 385

Media contact:
Thomas Midteide, head of Media & Marketing, tel. (+47) 962 32 017

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements according to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

DNB’s profits in the second quarter of 2019 were NOK 6 134 million, an increase of NOK 50 million from the same quarter last year. The bank is experiencing strong growth in its main digital channels.

The mobile bank is the bank's most important ‘branch office’, as it has been for a long time. The figures for the first half of the year show that the digital development has gained even more momentum in 2019. DNB launched several new digital services in the second quarter, including a digital fund adviser and the accounting solution DNB Regnskap, which makes life easier for small businesses. DNB’s new mobile bank, which was launched in January this year, already has 826 000 users.

“More than 60 per cent of our active customers use the new mobile bank. This trend will continue as we develop new functionality, and we see the same tendency within savings. Customers are logging in more often and also buying more in the savings app Spare, which has now sold mutual funds for a total of NOK 2.3 billion. So far this year, sales are up 50 per cent,” says CEO Rune Bjerke, who today is presenting DNB's quarterly figures for the fiftieth and last time.

Growth in all areas
Net interest income in the second quarter amounted to NOK 9 581 million, up NOK 291 million from the previous quarter. Once again, the bank is able to present quarterly results with growth in all business areas.

In total, lending volumes have increased by 6.3 per cent, backed by a strong development in the Norwegian economy. Macroeconomic prospects also contribute to keeping impairment losses at a relatively low level in a historical perspective.

With strong contributions from real estate broking and the sale of non-life insurance products, the net commission and fee income was NOK 85 million higher than in the same quarter last year.  

"I am very pleased with the team effort in DNB these days. We are constantly becoming better at helping our customers through the various phases of their lives, whether they are purchasing a home, starting their own business or saving money for the next generation. We have a total customer offering that few of our competitors can match,” says Bjerke.

"But then, good feedback and trust from both our customers and owners are what we live on. Therefore, we were especially pleased when we in June were the largest bank in the Nordic region in terms of market value,” adds the departing CEO.  

Financial key figures for the second quarter of 2019 (compared with figures for the corresponding quarter in 2018): 

•  Pre-tax operating profit before impairment amounted to NOK 8.2 billion (7.1) 
•  Profit for the quarter was NOK 6.1 billion (6.1) 
•  Earnings per share were NOK 3.71 (3.65) 
•  Return on equity was 11.3 per cent (11.8) 
•  Cost/income ratio ended at 41.9 per cent (43.1) 
•  CET1 capital ratio (according to transitional rules) was 16.5 per cent (16.2) 

Details concerning DNB’s results can be found on dnb.no/ir. 

Contact:
Thomas Midteide, Group Executive Vice President of Media & Marketing, tel. (+47) 962 32 017
Rune Helland, head of Investor Relations, tel. (+47) 977 13 250
Jan Ole Huseby, senior adviser in Investor Relations, tel. (+47) 958 61 003