Danske fires executive who overcharged clients

Bloomberg

Denmark’s biggest bank, already struggling to recover from a money-laundering scandal, fired the man who until last month was interim CEO because some clients paid too much for an investment product.
Danske Bank A/S said on Monday that it had dismissed Jesper Nielsen, head of banking in Denmark, after it emerged that tens of thousands of domestic customers were improperly charged. The lender now owes them a total of 400 million kroner ($61 million) in compensation.
Nielsen, 50, ran the bank as interim CEO following the $230 billion dirty-money debacle and was tipped as a potential permanent leader before Danske picked Chris Vogelzang, a former ABN Amro banker, for the top job. The bank’s shares have plunged 60 percent since early 2018, as the laundering affair unfolded, and fell as much as 2.7 percent after Monday’s
announcement.
Nielsen “did not to a sufficient degree ensure that the Flexinvest Fri product was suitable for the bank’s customers,” Chairman Karsten Dybvad said in a statement. “Therefore, we find that Jesper cannot continue in his position.” Danske fired CEO Thomas Borgen in October over the laundering scandal and Nielsen had acted as interim CEO until June. Nielsen, a Danish national, had been with Danske since 1996.
Vogelzang apologised to clients in a statement. “Misguided management decisions” meant that Danske didn’t give customers “proper advice,” he said.