The bank said it is moving as it wants to be treated similarly to other lenders overseen by the European Central Bank, which is why it is moving its domicile from Sweden, a non-euro country.

The parent company of Nordea is shifting its domicile eurozone country to Finland from Sweden, as expected, with the move taking effect on 1 October.  

The decision to shift was taken last year after Sweden announced that it intended to bring in a bank tax, and because it wanted to be treated similarly to other lenders overseen by the European Central Bank. (Sweden is not in the eurozone.) The bank reportedly also intends to refocus its wealth management efforts in its core Scandinavian market.

“Nordea Bank AB (publ) and Nordea Bank Abp have today decided to execute the merger plan, and consequently to carry out the re-domiciliation of the parent company of the Nordea Group to Finland with effect as of 1 October 2018. The decisions are based on the Nordea Group having obtained all relevant material approvals needed for the execution of the merger,” the group said in a statement yesterday. 

“Domiciling in a country that is participating in the banking union is the best way to secure a fair, stable and predictable regulatory environment for Nordea on a par with its peers,” it said.  

In January, Nordea took a decision to focus more on its core Nordic region business, selling its Luxembourg-based private banking operations to UBS. As explained in a UBS statement at the time: “The decision follows a thorough strategic review of Nordea’s Private Banking International activities. The strategic review was part of the transformation of Nordea, with the aim to better manage risk, focus the business and deliver an even better bank for the clients. This led to the decision to concentrate Nordea's private banking activities on the Nordics.”

All banking business iwill be carried out by Nordea Bank AB (publ) until 30 September. As from 1 October 2018 it will be carried out by Nordea Bank Abp.