DnB Holding ASA and Gjensidige NOR ASA have received approval from the Norwegian Ministry of Finance to merge and establish a new financial services group called DnB NOR ASA.
The Ministry of Finance has also granted permission to merge the two banks, Den norske Bank ASA and Union Bank of Norway ASA, as soon as obstacles prompted by the differences between the Savings Banks’ Guarantee Fund and the Commercial Banks’ Guarantee Fund are cleared away. The Ministry of Finance has promised to solve the issues quickly. Shares in DnB NOR ASA are expected to start trading in about a week.