The news of Danske Bank’s change of leadership has been greeted warmly by investors. The company’s stock price lifted in early trading, rising to a high of 2.6 percent on the Copenhagen stock exchange within hours of the move.
Denmark’s largest bank sacked CEO Eivind Kolding this morning in favour of Thomas Borgen, who headed up Danske Bank's corporate banking unit. In a statement, the bank said that board members felt Borgen had stronger credentials in banking matters. Analysts championed the move, saying Danske Bank was losing ground to rivals in Sweden in previous years. According to Bloomberg, Danske Bank’s shares have returned at 26 percent, compared to 38 percent for Nordea – Scandinavia’s largest bank.
“Danske has a difficult task in the coming years in catching up with the Swedish banks, so it’s important to have the right team,” Jyske Bank A/S analyst Christian Hede told Bloomberg News.
READ MORE: Danske Bank fires CEO
While Danske Bank’s stock has gained steadily this year (24 percent) the board was blunt in its assessment of the change, saying the bank needed to act quickly in order to instal a more customer-centric approach to its business.
Kolding has been with Danske Bank since 2001, and was named CEO in February 2012. But his tenure has been marred by plummeting consumer confidence in the bank, as well as a series of gaffes in spearheading a failed print and TV advertising campaign. During that time, Danske Bank also trimmed 1,179 jobs and closed 218 branches.
