The Ministry of Finance reacted to the growth of Bank Norwegian in neighbouring countries by offering a special Norwegian, high guarantee on deposits. A deal is soon in place.
Bank Norwegian has established itself in Finland, financed with deposits covered by a Norwegian deposit guarantee, said Sigmund Håland, who manages Dagens Næringsliv newspaper. The Bank is alone in offering this abroad.
The Norwegian bank guarantee scheme provides customers with collateral of up to
NOK 2 million per customer if a bank is to stop doing business. By comparison, EU countries have a guarantee of up to NOK 980,000 per customer.
State Secretary, Geir Olsen of Venstre (V) , at the Ministry of Finance, commented on Bank Norway’s practice by saying that the competitive advantage is unfortunate.
“It is important that Norwegian banks should not be able to exploit the Norwegian guarantee level to achieve a competitive advantage in foreign markets,” he wrote in an email.
The ministry has worked on a bill for the guarantee scheme since last summer. In this, it is proposed to include a provision stating that the Norwegian guarantee can’t be used abroad.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today