Top List of Banks in Norway

It's not easy to be a new bank in Norway, but there are quite a few established players. In the past decade, Norway has seen its share of financial institutions come and go. It’s also been home to some of the most spectacular banking collapses. But that doesn't mean that Norway's banks are without talent - on the contrary. Today, we'll look at the country's biggest banks and see how they measure up.

DNB Bank

DNB Bank ASA is the biggest commercial bank in Norway. It offers financial services and products like loans, credit cards, and savings accounts. The bank also provides insurance solutions and pension products to its customers.

The company is headquartered in Oslo and has subsidiaries in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands.

DNB Bank is present throughout the country with 116 branches and around 1,500 ATMs.

In 2018, the company reported total assets of NOK 2.7 trillion (US$353 billion) and net income of NOK 20 billion (US$2.59 billion).

Sparebank 1 SR-Bank

SpareBank 1 SR-Bank is one of Norway's largest banking groups with around 85 branches in Southern Norway and its headquarters in Stavanger. SpareBank 1 SR-Bank offers services including financing for private individuals and businesses. The bank operates around 54 branches in the Stavanger region including Sandnes, Sola, Klepp, Time, and Gjesdal. In 2019, the bank reported assets of around NOK 256 billion. 

Sparebank 1 SMN

Sparebank 1 SMN is one of Norway's largest regional banks, with more than 71 branches across Norway. The bank provides retail banking products and services to private individuals, startups, and small- and medium-sized enterprises.


The bank offers a wide range of operational and investment banking services, including wealth management, corporate finance, M&A advisory, leasing and factoring, trade finance, cash management, and working capital solutions. It also offers insurance products through its subsidiary Sparebank 1 Skadeforsikring AS. The bank's total assets of NOK 46 billion make it the ninth-largest bank in Norway.

Handelsbanken Norway

Handelsbanken Norway is the Norwegian branch of the Swedish Handelsbanken group. It offers financial services to private and business customers in Norway.

Handelsbanken Norway is headquartered in Oslo, the capital city of Norway, and has operations in most major cities in the country. The bank has around 200 branches throughout the country, including one branch in Tromsø, one branch in Hamar, and two branches in Trondheim.

In 2018 it reported total interim assets of NOK 2772 billion and total equity of NOK 130 billion.

Santander Consumer Bank

Santander Consumer Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Santander Group. The bank offers various banking and financial services to individuals and businesses. It provides savings accounts, current accounts, personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, child savings plans, and pension plans. The bank also offers eKonto and eTransfere services. It has approximately 430 branches in Norway.   In 2020 its total assets were 171,93 bln NOK, providing the bank with a market share of 3.89%.

Bank Norwegian AS

Bank Norwegian AS, formerly known as Norwegian Finans Holding ASA, is a financial services company based in Norway. The group operates through its two main subsidiaries, Norwegian Bank AS and Norwegian Finans Holding Boligkreditt AS.

Bank Norwegian offers deposit accounts, loans, and credit cards to retail customers, mainly in Norway and Sweden. As of March 31, 2020, Bank Norwegian had approximately 1.1 million customers in Norway and Sweden and total assets of NOK 56.2 billion (approximately $6.8 billion).

Storebrand Bank ASA

Storebrand Bank ASA is one of the biggest banks in Norway with assets under management worth over $22 960,80 mln NOK (2020). It is a subsidiary of Storebrand ASA, a Norwegian financial services group that provides insurance and pensions products and services to more than 2 million customers served by over 2160 full-time employees.

The bank offers a range of banking services including deposits, loans, mortgages, credit cards, and asset management. 

BN Bank ASA

Since its inception in 1961, BN Bank has had its headquarters in Trondheim. The bank has amassed a sizable asset base with a total net worth of more than $30 billion throughout the years. In addition, the bank's annual revenue averages more than $100 million.

BN Bank offers a comprehensive range of banking services to its customers, including investment opportunities, current accounts, savings accounts, mortgages, and more. Similarly, the bank specializes in private finance for businesses and people.

BN Bank has over 50,000 customers in Norway.

Skandiabanken

Skandiabanken is a Norwegian bank that was founded in the year 2000. The bank, which has its headquarters in Bergen, provides a comprehensive range of banking services to its customers, the majority of which are available through the bank's digital platform. As a result, clients can use the internet to obtain vehicle credit, debit and credit cards, mortgages, overdrafts, and a variety of other services from anywhere in the country. Skandiabanken, meanwhile, effectively delivers foreign payment and related services to its clients.


Skandiabanken has a solid financial track record. The bank's total assets are just over $6 billion. It also generates an annual net income of more than $100 billion on average.

Sparebanken More

Sparebanken Mre is a bank based in Volda that was founded in 2006. The bank provides insurance, bill payment, card services, and other banking services to its customers.

Sparebanken has a tiny staff of just around 401 people as of 2020. In 2020 total assets of SPAREBANKEN MØRE were 56,617.75 mln NOK.

Nordea Bank

Nordea Bank is the largest financial services group in Northern Europe and one of the biggest banks in the world. The bank was created by merging the three biggest Nordic banks, Merita Bank, Unibank, and Kreditkassen.

Nordea Bank has more than 11 million customers and almost 1,400 branches across 19 countries. Nordea's business covers retail banking, corporate and institutional banking as well as life insurance operations.

The overall assets were worth roughly 669 billion euros in 2014 but had fallen to around 551 billion euros in 2018. The entire assets amounted to almost 552.2 million euros in 2020.

Voss Veksel og Landmandsbank

Voss Veksel og Landmandsbank was established in 1843 and is one of the oldest banks in Norway. The bank provides a variety of banking services to individuals and businesses, including savings accounts, loans, and investment management services. It also provides real estate brokerage services through its subsidiary, Voss Eiendomsmegling AS. Its total assets in 2020 were 5 806,01 million NOK, giving it a 0.13 percent market share.

Cultura Sparebank

Cultura Sparebank has been in business since 1982. It's a bank that mostly focuses on savings accounts. The bank is a participant in the ethical initiative, which aspires to invest all assets and money in ethical ways. Cultura Sparebank has many branches throughout the Norwegian capital city and other parts of the country, with a total asset of  NOK 657 million (2014).


Cultura Sparebank was founded by a group of economically and ethically motivated individuals who wanted to establish an ethics-based financial institution. As a result, Cultura Sparebank has developed a financial environment in which its clients can save and invest with ease.

yA Bank

yA Bank, formerly known as Gjensidige NOR, was formed in 2006. The company is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and has 78 bank offices throughout the country. yA Bank has a full banking license and is one of the largest financial institutions in Scandinavia. It offers many services to its customers, including home loans and insurance policies.  In 2017 its total assets were 7 084,28 mln NOK.

Resurs Bank

Resurs Bank is a Swedish bank that specializes in providing consumer payment solutions. It was established in 1977 and is headquartered in Helsingborg, Sweden. The bank has 608 employees and serves 2.5 million customers. It also has operations in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and the Netherlands. It specializes in point-of-sale financing, installment loans, and revolving credit. In 2020 its total assets were 39 630,00 mln SEK.

FAQs

Can a foreigner open a bank in Norway?

It is possible to open a bank account in Norway as a foreigner. However, it can be difficult to open one if you are not a resident of Norway. Foreigners who are working in Norway should have no problems opening an account.


The best way to open a bank account in Norway is to visit a branch of the bank that you want to become a client of. You will need proof of identity and proof of address in Norway before you can open one.