Danske Bank is a Danish bank. It was founded 5 October 1871 as Den Danske Landmandsbank. Danske Bank has long been one of the largest banks in Denmark, with roughly 30 percent market share, and since the mid-1990s it has been expanding its operations outside of the country.
In Norway it's known as Fokus Bank and in Sweden under a variety of brand names, including Ostgota Enskilda Bank. The reasons for this expansion are rooted in the increasing deregulation and internationalization of the banking sector. In 2006, Danske Bank bought the banking operations of the Finnish financial services group Sampo, which included retail banks in Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, along with a corporate entity in Russia. The Group also maintains corporate service branches in Hamburg, Poland and London, and an outpost serving high net worth clients in Luxembourg.
