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Banks in Scandinavia Rethink Who Pays for Equity Research

  • DNB will publish its first sponsored research in coming weeks
  • MiFID II-related revenue losses estimated at up to 15%
Boats sit moored in the harbour in the Nyhavn district of central Copenhagen, Denmark, on Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Denmark's two-year yields sank to the lowest in almost three months in Copenhagen trading as Europe's debt crisis continues to drive investors north.
Photographer: Linus Hook/Bloomberg
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Banks in Scandinavia are preparing to write equity research commissioned and paid for by listed companies, as they look for ways to recoup revenue losses because of MiFID II.

Alexander Opstad, head of equities at DNB Markets, said the revision of Europe’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive poses “an existential threat” that’s forcing banks to reconsider how they operate. They now have to itemize research costs, and that transparency is leading customers to demand lower prices.