Sparbanken Nord and FöreningsSparbanken join forces in Norrbotten County

Sparbanken Nord and FöreningsSparbanken join forces in Norrbotten County Sparbanken Nord and FöreningsSparbanken (Swedbank) are strengthening their ability to provide service and offerings to banking customers in Norrbotten County through an agreement on an expanded cooperation. Therefore an agreement has been reached that Sparbanken Nord will acquire FöreningsSparbanken's branch operations in the municipality of Gällivare, preliminary effective September 1 of this year. "We firmly believe that the agreement with Sparbanken Nord will benefit customers in Gällivare as well as in the rest of Norrbotten County," says Allan Nyström, head of FöreningsSparbanken in Norrbotten, FöreningsSparbanken Norr. "The cooperation will allow us to devote further energy to the efforts we have begun at FöreningsSparbanken to build up competence centers with greater access to specialized banking competence here in Norrbotten." "We are now focusing our core business on six municipalities: Piteå, Älvsbyn, Arvidsjaur, Arjeplog, Jokkmokk and Gällivare," notes Erik Hägglöv, President of Sparbanken Nord. "This year Sparbanken Nord will celebrate its 150th anniversary, and if you look at our development, it is only natural that we would continue to expand in this manner." The two banks have maintained a longstanding cooperation as part of the working agreements between Sweden's independent savings banks and FöreningsSparbanken. This cooperation is now being taken a step further in Norrbotten. The county's development, with both growth and a shrinking population, places special demands on banking services in terms of their design and approach. This means that cooperation to build competence and increase access to specialist know-how is becoming a necessity for both banks in order to maintain and strengthen their service to customers. For further information, please contact: Allan Nyström, Local Bank President, FöreningsSparbanken Norr, phone +46 920 391 30, +46 70 639 13 06 Erik Hägglöv, President, Sparbanken Nord, phone +46 70 696 61 10 Einar Frydén, Information Manager, FöreningsSparbanken AB, phone +46 705 11 00 33 Christina Sandsten, Marketing Manager, Sparbanken Nord, phone +46 911 231318, +46 70 631 85 62 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/02/21/20020221BIT00360/bit0002.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/02/21/20020221BIT00360/bit0002.pdf