The SpareBank 1 Alliance
The SpareBank 1 Alliance consists of 12 independent savings banks, who cooperate on branding and providing a joint platform. SpareBank 1 is Norway’s second largest finance group in terms of assets.
The alliance was created in 1996 to strengthen each local bank’s competitiveness, profitability and solvency, as well as to ensure each bank’s future independence and regional ties.
Which banks are in the SpareBank 1 Alliance?
SpareBank 1 Gudbrandsdal SpareBank 1 Hallingdal Valdres SpareBank 1 Helgeland SpareBank 1 Lom og Skjåk SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge |
SpareBank 1 Nordmøre SpareBank 1 Ringerike Hadeland SpareBank 1 SMN SpareBank 1 SMN (Søre Sunnmøre) |
SpareBank 1 SR-Bank SpareBank 1 Sørøst-Norge SpareBank 1 Østfold Akershus SpareBank 1 Østlandet |
Organisation of the collaboration
The collaboration is organised through the jointly owned companies SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS and SpareBank 1 Utvikling DA with their subsidiaries, in addition to several other directly owned companies of the SpareBank 1 banks.
SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS
SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS is the parent company to 5 subsidiary companies, which all develop and supply products to banks in the alliance, which in turns offer these to customers in their local markets.The company also develops and supplies products to LO and its associations through its loyalty scheme LOfavør.
SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS is owned by SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge, SpareBank 1 SMN, SpareBank 1 SR-Bank ASA and Samarbeidende Sparebanker AS, who each hold a stake of 19.5 %. SpareBank 1 Østlandet owns 12.4 % and LO and its associations own 9.6 %.
Subsidiary companies
- SpareBank 1 Forsikring AS – life insurance
Fremtind Forsikring AS
SpareBank 1 Factoring AS
Kredinor AS (50%)
SpareBank 1 Spleis AS
SpareBank 1 Utvikling DA
SpareBank 1 Utvikling DA supplies business platforms and joint management and development services to alliance banks, and helps to ensure that joint development and activities provide the banks with economies of scale and competitive advantages.The company also owns and manages the alliance’s intellectual property rights under the joint brand name “SpareBank 1”. The owners of SpareBank 1 Utvikling DA are the SpareBank 1 banks and SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS.
Subsidiary companies
- EiendomsMegler 1 Norge AS
- SpareBank 1 Kundesenter AS
- SpareBank 1 Verdipapirservice AS
Directly owned companies
The following companies are directly owned by the SpareBank 1 banks.
- BN Bank ASA
- SpareBank 1 Boligkreditt AS
- SpareBank 1 Forvaltning AS
- SpareBank 1 Kreditt AS
- SpareBank 1 Næringskreditt AS
- SpareBank 1 Markets AS
- SpareBank 1 Betaling AS
Corporate social responsibility
Each one of the 12 independent banks in the SpareBank 1 alliance ensures they exercise corporate social responsibility in their local communities.
SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS undertakes to take into account how its activities affect people, the environment and society - in addition to the legislation which the financial sector is subject to - and has expressed its corporate social responsibility in the following terms:
Criteria for suppliers
SpareBank 1 Gruppen’s procurement policy requires all agreements to include information about corporate social responsibility, ethics and duty of notification. As a minimum, suppliers must satisfy and comply with local, national and international laws, regulations and principles, and in relation to wages, working hours and HSE (Health, Safety and the Environment), as well as anti-corruption.
Combating corruption
Ethical guidelines form part of employment contracts and stipulate a number of rules for how employees should act in relation to gifts, customers and hospitality. The company runs an mandatory e-course in ethics and procedures for the notification of unacceptable conditions and safety breaches. SpareBank 1 Gruppen has not drawn up special guidelines for combating corruption.
Ethical management
In asset management, ethical guidelines and internationally recognised principles of ethical management are followed. Weight is given to ethical considerations when choosing external asset managers and analysing companies in its own funds. Weight is also given to exercising good ownership and excluding companies that do not satisfy the Group's ethical standards.
Human rights
SpareBank 1 Gruppen does not have its own guidelines for human rights. This area is regarded as being covered by the Group's code of conduct, which describes general principles for how employees and representatives should conduct themselves and the principles on which decisions should be based in given situations.
Employee rights and social conditions
SpareBank 1 Gruppen has ensured that employees experience a good balance between work and time off, personal development and various lifestyle activities. The Group has an inclusive working life agreement in place.
The external environment
SpareBank 1 Gruppen is Miljøfyrtårn certified and develops climate accounts on the basis of its overall energy consumption during daily operations. Through energy consumption, travel, transportation, selection of materials, procurement, waste and water consumption, SpareBank 1 Gruppen has a limited impact on the environment.
SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS companies in brief
SpareBank 1 Skadeforsikring AS
SpareBank 1 Skadeforsikring develops and sells insurances through the banks in the SpareBank 1 alliance, but also has direct distribution channels to private customers and to corporate customers via brokers.
SpareBank 1 Forsikring AS
SpareBank 1 Forsikring AS supplies and manages defined contribution pensions, hybrid pensions, group life insurance and individual risk insurance. These products are primarily distributed via the banks in the SpareBank 1 alliance, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and LO associations.
ODIN Forvaltning AS
ODIN Forvaltning’s operations involve the active and long term management of equity funds that are approved for distribution in Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. The company also manages fixed income funds and combination funds that are marketed and distributed in Norway. The company has offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Helsinki.
Conecto AS
Conecto AS provides collection services to companies, organisations, banks and financial institutions, and investors who buy portfolios of overdue claims. The company’s business concept is to recover as much of customers’ claims as possible, while prudently preserving their reputation.
SpareBank 1 Gruppen Finans AS
SpareBank 1 Gruppen Finans AS produces, delivers and distributes services within factoring, portfolio acquisition and portfolio management.
SpareBank 1 Medlemskort AS
SpareBank 1 Medlemskort runs the LO associations common membership database and collects insurance premiums for collective insurance policies. The company also operates and administers the LOfavør loyalty scheme on behalf of more than 900,000 association members.