Atlantica - 01.06.2002, Page 88

86 A T L A N T I C A
Berkeley Square, in the heart of
London's distinguished Mayfair
district: Outside Heritable Bank, the
blue flag of Landsbanki flies high.
This is the Bank's most recent outpost
in Europe; set to bring in a wider vari-
ety of banking deals in London,
Europe and Iceland. Halldór Jón
Kristjánsson, Landsbanki's CEO, is
also the chairman of the board of
directors of Heritable Bank, and the
two other Icelandic board members
are Kjartan Gunnarsson, vice chair-
man of the board of directors of
Landsbanki, and Sigurdur Atli
Jónsson, managing director of
Landsbanki's Capital Management
Division.
Heritable Bank is 125 years old and
has specialised in residential develop-
ment finance. The bank counts 32
staff members (six of them Icelandic)
and is housed in a beautiful old five-
storey building on Berkeley Square,
the location for several international
private banks. And why London?
"There are many opportunities in
banking in London," says Kristjánsson.
"It's the finance capital of Europe and
the centre of Landsbanki's foreign
trade since 1930. All the major interna-
tional banks have their large branches
or headquarters here. We have been
aware that various Icelandic compa-
nies are interested in us branching out
in London, and we can attend to the
needs of our more wealthy Icelandic
clients both in Britain and in Europe.
The key factor to being able to provide
an outstanding investment service to
our clients is proximity to the heart of
Europe's trading centre."
INCREASED REVENUES
The acquisition took place in Sept-
ember 2000 when Landsbanki bought
a 70 percent share in Heritable Bank
from US bank First Union. In February
2002, the Bank increased its share to
95 percent. The Bank's investment in
Heritable Bank will amount to three
billion Icelandic krónur, and they hope
to realise a full return in their invest-
ment over the next nine years. When I
ask Kristjánsson for the reason they
chose Heritable Bank, he replies, "We
wanted to buy a business unit which
would bring immediate profits to our
corporation. Heritable Bank has firm
foundations with a long profit history,
and is the ideal starting ground to
attract further business abroad. Its
directors are very experienced in inter-
national banking; the bank is in the
best location in London; and last, but
not least, we are diversifying risk, gen-
erating additional income from abroad
and therefore less dependent on
changes in the Icelandic market. At the
same time, we are enlarging the
Landsbanki corporation and increasing
its value." Kristjánsson says that he has
high hopes that Heritable Bank will
return a good profit to Landsbanki in
the future. "We estimate that Heritable
Bank will increase the profit of
Landsbanki in the future. We hold high
The purchase of Heritable
Bank in London by Landsbanki
Íslands hf. (The National Bank
of Iceland Ltd) was a strategic
move to launch the bank into
new activities in Europe and to
bring in massive profits
for the future.
Anna Margrét Björnsson spoke
to Halldór Jón Kristjánsson,
the Group Managing Director
and CEO of Landsbanki,
on the purchase.
NEW BASE FOR
LANDSBANKI IN
LONDON
A NEW TIDE
PHOTOS PÁLL STEFÁNSSON
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