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Bank Profits Plunge in Denmark as Negative Rates Take Toll

  • Net income fell 20% in first half of 2019, lobby group says
  • Central bank had pointed to solid profits in defense of policy
Pedestrians pass the headquarters of Danske Bank in Copenhagen.

Pedestrians pass the headquarters of Danske Bank in Copenhagen.

Photographer: Freya Ingrid Morales/Bloomberg
Updated on

Banks in Denmark have seen their aggregate profits sink this year, according to calculations by the industry’s main lobby group, which has repeatedly urged monetary policy makers to provide relief from long-term negative interest rates.

Industry profits fell 20% in the first half of this year, Finans Danmark said on Monday. Denmark’s 17 biggest banks and mortgage lenders reported after-tax profit of 15.6 billion kroner ($2.3 billion), it said in a statement. That compares with profit of 19.4 billion a year earlier.