Saxo Bank say it expects to invest upwards of DKr209 million (€28 million) in capital into failing Danish savings bank Brørup Sparekasse in attempt to break into the retail banking sector.
Brørup Sparekasse has a chain of branches throughout Denmark but ran into difficulty in 2009 when poor speculation on unlisted securities caused reported losses of DKr74 million.
The plan is for Brørup Sparekasse to become a joint-stock company, with Saxo owning 90% of the stock and former guarantors taking the other 10%. Saxo’s chief financial officer Karina Deacon and director Christian Kofoed Jacobsen will take seats on the board of Brørup Sparekasse.
Commentators say the reason Saxo has not been able to offer general banking services before is because it lacked adequate IT infrastructure. Buying up Brørup Sparekasse should solve that problem, with the added bonus of coming in relatively cheaply.
The plan has been approved by the Danish financial stability company (Finansiel Stabilitet).