Major banks closing down their branches

Abandoned buildings are being used by regional banks

The country's three largest banks – Danske Bank, Jyske Bank and Nordea – are shutting down many of their local divisions.

In fact, they have closed every tenth branch this year.

Clients prefer online services
According to Børsen, the number of major bank branches has almost halved in Denmark  since the turn of the millennium. 

One of the main reasons, say the banks, is customers' declining interest in personal service and increased demand for services over the Internet and mobile devices. 

Expert surprised by the pace
Nicholas Rhode, a banking expert from the consulting firm Niro Invest, is surprised at the speed the banks keep shutting down their local branches.

"It clearly shows that the big banks focus more and more on their central headquarters and that the internet is becoming more important to them," Rhode told Finans.

Smaller banks continue with personal services
Regional banks are, in contrast, taking over the abandoned bank branches and continue to provide personal services to local communities. 

Middelfart Sparekasse has, for instance, opened five new branches in the last one and half years and promises not to close its branches until 2018.




  • Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    A Wall Street Journal article describes that the US will now begin spying in Greenland. This worries the Danish foreign minister, who wants an explanation from the US’s leading diplomat. Greenlandic politicians think that Trump’s actions increase the sense of insecurity

  • Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    What do King Frederik X, Queen Mary, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Jaime Lannister have in common? No, this isn’t the start of a very specific Shakespeare-meets-HBO fanfiction — it was just Wednesday night in Denmark

  • Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    For many years, most young people in Denmark have preferred upper secondary school (Gymnasium). Approximately 20 percent of a year group chooses a vocational education. Four out of 10 young people drop out of a vocational education. A bunch of millions aims to change that

  • Beloved culture house saved from closure

    Beloved culture house saved from closure

    At the beginning of April, it was reported that Kapelvej 44, a popular community house situated in Nørrebro, was at risk of closing due to a loss of municipality funding

  • Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    With reforms to tighten the rules for foreigners in Denmark without legal residency, and the approval of a reception package for internationals working in the care sector, internationals have been under the spotlight this week. Mette Frederiksen spoke about both reforms yesterday.

  • Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Currently, around 170 people live on “tolerated stay” in Denmark, a status for people who cannot be deported but are denied residency and basic rights. As SOS Racisme draws a concerning picture of their living conditions in departure centers, such as Kærshovedgård, they also suggest it might be time for Denmark to reinvent its policies on deportation

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.