Author: Christina White
“There is a new bridge between Denmark and Sweden. The homogeneity is increasing,” says Hans Dalborg, CEO of MeritaNordbanken. “That doesn’t mean that we are the same – we are different.” The Øresund Bridge, spanning the 16 kilometre strait, opened on July 1. That is one symbol of a growing pan-Nordic identity. MeritaNordbanken, the largest bank in the region, and still expanding aggressively, is another.
But there are persistent cultural differences, starting with language. Different languages dominate Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, although Finland has many Swedish speakers. Dalborg, who is Swedish, hits language barriers even with other directors in his own bank. “Language has been a problem. I have tried to learn Finnish and I understand Danish. But for many people in Sweden and Finland, Danish is still difficult to understand. So very often we all speak English together,” says Dalborg.
The Nordic countries “have similar...
