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Bloomberg
Nordea Bank AB won enough support from its shareholders for its proposed move to Helsinki from Stockholm, paving the way for the Nordic region’s largest bank to join Europe’s banking union.
More than 95% of the shareholders present or represented at the bank’s annual general meeting in Stockholm voted in support of the proposed relocation, surpassing the two thirds needed. The decision was widely expected, after a number of key shareholders, including Swedbank Robur, Alecta and Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co, voiced their support ahead of the meeting.
Nordea’s management drafted the relocation plan last year after relations with Sweden’s government soured. CEO Casper von Koskull, characterizing Nordea’s future in Sweden’s regulatory environment as untenable, said the bank was moving in the hope of finding a “level playing field†versus its European peers.
Ahead of the vote, Nordea Chairman Bjorn Wahlroos told shareholders that the move to Helsinki and the banking union will provide the bank with “stable regulation†that is also more beneficial to Nordea than the rules in Sweden. “There are strong reasons for the move since it’s unreasonable that one of Europe’s biggest banks should stand outside the banking union,†said Joakim Bornold, an analyst at Nordnet.