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Danske Overtakes Rival Banks With Shrewd Debt-Sale Tactics

A flag flies above the headquarters of Danske Bank in Copenhagen.

A flag flies above the headquarters of Danske Bank in Copenhagen.

Photographer: Freya Ingrid Morales/Bloomberg
Updated on

Danske Bank A/S is racing ahead of its rivals in issuing a key type of debt as investors desperate for yield look past the lender’s history of financial scandal.

The bank at the center of a $220 billion Estonian money-laundering affair has made considerable inroads into its issuance of senior non-preferred bonds even as most of its peers in Scandinavia hesitate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The debt class, which is essential for building a buffer to meet European rules that protect taxpayers from financial crises, is proving irresistible to investors struggling to generate returns amid a sea of negative interest rates.