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The bank announced Thursday that it will cut costs by NOK 40 million annually. 35 employees will be affected when the bank now closes 16 offices.
Liv Bortne Ulriksen was hired as the new CEO of Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge in May
Ronald Johansen / iTromsø
Published:,
“Changing customer behavior, tough price competition and expected demographic development” lead the bank to choose to close 16 of the 31 bank branches, Sparebank1 Nord-Norge writes in a press release Thursday morning.
The bank notes that digitization has accelerated in recent years, and the crown crisis has shown that customers are digital, and that they prefer to be digital too.
According to the report, 16 smaller bank branches are now closing.
The bank says 35 employees will be affected. CEO Liv Ulriksen says they are working to find solutions for these.
– We have a tradition of finding good solutions in situations like this. We offer our employees good severance packages and I am confident that we will find solutions for everyone, he says.
See the list of offices that are closed below in the case!
– Still believes in local knowledge
Therefore, 15 offices will remain open.
– We will emphasize offering our full range of products in each office, including real estate, leasing and accounting services, says CEO Liv Ulriksen.
Ulriksen believes that it is necessary to “act in time” to continue to achieve good results. He points out that in the future they will have to invest more in digital solutions.
At the same time, he says he understands that people will be disappointed that the offices are closed.
– There are several reasons why some perceive this as sad. Several of the affected offices are located in smaller locations, where the supply of services has been reduced over time. Although the reasons are understandable, I have respect for the fact that it is lived in a negative way.
Ulriksen emphasizes that the bank will do everything possible to make the transition manageable, also for non-digital clients who have generally received help from the bank.
Reduce costs
The CEO points out that they will continue to be present throughout the region and that they still have many more offices in northern Norway than their competitors combined.
In the profitability program launched last year, the bank said it had an ambition to increase profits by 200 million annually.
In Thursday’s announcement, the group writes that a significant portion of this sum will be raised through cost reductions.
– The changes in the office structure will mean annual savings of approximately 40 million, and the group expects to be in line with the profitability program as of 12/31/21, the press release indicates.
