What does the future hold for Danske Bank now that the scandal is unfolding? Apparently, the US financial supervisory authority is also investigating Danske’s mess. Is there a way up?
3 Likes
Sauli: DB’s and Nordea’s official connections? DB’s problems = Nordea’s problems? In the end, all banks are in the same mire, but let’s start with this simple question.
Masse, owner of Nordea breed cattle
Maybe it’s time to buy Danske?
Today, Kauppalehti reported that the Norwegian Oil Fund exchanged Nordea shares for Danske Bank. Could this finally be a signal that it’s time to seize the opportunity?
3 Likes
I also bought Danske myself, and if the price drops back to around 120 DKK, I’ll probably refuel. I went through the annual report and the conference call transcript, and at least there it seemed that DB is working hard to regain the trust of both private and corporate customers, and at least at first glance, it didn’t look like market shares had decreased significantly. Also, the income statement didn’t look particularly alarming. When you combine this with the fact that, in my opinion, DB competes quite smartly in Finland for highly educated customers, who likely have a lower risk profile compared to the rest of the population, plus more investment interests and thus potentially more income from fees, etc., as well as the low valuation, I think the case is on a good foundation.
2 Likes
It’s getting so cheap that I’d be interested in taking a piece of Danske. As I understand it, their digital services are in good shape and they are thus ready for future services. But will the spring’s messes drag the stock even lower, below 100DKK?
1 Like
You rarely get good returns without a big risk… European banks are seemingly cheap, but if and when volumes still drop and interest rates remain low, there’s no going back to previous years’ levels. Danske still has extra risks compared to many other banks.
Before the money laundering mess, Danske was among the best in terms of returns, and my impression of their digital services is the same as yours. So, there are certainly ingredients for a rise there.
I might take a small position just to “see what happens,” but otherwise, I’d leave it alone. I’ll just watch what happens to my small Nordea position. I don’t think Danske will end up with much of a loss at these prices, even in the short term. If you have enough patience for a longer period, Danske is, in my opinion, a buy now. 100dkk seems like a pretty solid base unless world politics interferes. In that case, it probably doesn’t matter what you own. 
3 Likes
Danske lowers 2019 outlook
Danske Bank Q2 today. The share price reacted moderately. The Finnish branch’s result has improved and costs are clearly decreasing.
Danske Bank board members Jakob Groot and Glenn Söderholm have purchased shares in the bank.
Management is being shuffled. Any thoughts?
Danske Bank’s result was better than in the comparison period, partly explained by mortgage refinancing. ROE Q3 7.6 percent (6.4 percent in the comparison period).
2023 targets:
• We want to be among the top two on customer
satisfaction in everything we do
• More than 90% of employees should be engaged
(as measured in our Employee Engagement Index)
• We operate sustainably, ethically and transparently
– and have a positive impact on the societies we are
a part of. We will measure progress across seven
identified focus categories
• We must achieve a return on shareholders’ equity
of 9-10% and a cost/income ratio in the low 50s by
continuously improving the profitability level –
leveraging our full potential
OP’s banking sector report from this morning. The valuation is attractive, but there are risks that need to be tolerated.
1 Like
According to S&P Global, Danske Bank could avoid substantial fines from the U.S. Department of Justice.
https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/56654589
2 Likes
Has anyone been following whether Danske is paying dividends in 2021? A quick Google search didn’t reveal any confirmation, only estimates.
Would it be possible that Danske would also pay the dividends left unpaid in 2020 next year?
Sincerely, Am I holding for nothing?
My personal observation regarding Danske Bank’s home loans. I just compared offers for my first home loan from four banks: Aktia, Danske, Hypo, and Säästöpankki (a small local branch). Danske Bank gave me the best offer, including no opening fee and the lowest margin at 0.35%. Aktia and Hypo had 0.4%, and reading between the lines, Säästöpankki had at least 0.5%. Additionally, because I’m under 28, Danske Bank gave me a youth package for five years, so that’s another bonus 
.
Aktia, by the way, had an interesting offer: open a stock savings account with us, buy our funds, and we’ll lower your margin. Well, Aktia’s funds’ success has been heavily advertised, but I shy away from high ongoing fees (1-2%), so I passed on that. I didn’t ask if Danske Bank had anything similar available.
As a small side note, Danske Bank made the collateral process the easiest: entirely electronically! At least with Hypo, it would have required postal mail or a visit to the branch.
So, this is a brief customer experience with Danske Bank: so far, very positive.
2 Likes
Alright, finally things are starting to happen. The positive outlook I was expecting from Danske Bank is out, it seems EPS will be around 14 DKK, of which 40-60% will be paid out according to the dividend policy. And there’s room for further improvement. Price/book is probably still below 0.7. So this is finally starting to recover! Good thing I stocked up in the 70-90 DKK range. A reasonably mediocre bank, poorly performing equity, etc… but you get it cheap!
1 Like
Well, that was good timing again. I was looking into the reason for Danske’s good key figures yesterday, and now today there’s a positive earnings revision. I didn’t buy yesterday, and I won’t buy today either. Why?
Yesterday, I asked in the Finance thread if anyone had followed Danske’s Baltic money laundering case and potential multi-billion (euro) fines. Now I read a link found in this thread, and since it’s suspected that a resolution won’t come until after 2021, I guess I’ll leave the matter be for now. This is not investment advice, but idle speculation on summer vacation when there’s nothing better to do on a cloudy cleaning day.
That money laundering scandal was indeed a major factor in the share price drop, and still is. But it’s pretty well priced in already, looking at the P/E and P/B ratios. I don’t believe Americans are ready to kill off Denmark’s largest bank in this geopolitical situation.
What do you think of Danske Bank these days?
It caught my eye because Nordnet’s 25th-anniversary promo included free trades, and according to them, the P/E forecast is 8 and P/B is 0.53, which would naturally be appealing.
2 Likes
Well, I don’t know if anyone reads this forum, but I myself snagged a good chunk of Danske for my portfolio, for the long term..
2 Likes