Akershus is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county that included most of Eastern Norway, and from the 17th century until 2020, Akershus also had a more narrow meaning as a (sub) county that included most of the Greater Oslo Region. After 2020 the former county of Akershus was merged into Viken along with the former counties of Østfold and Buskerud. In 2022 the Storting voted to dissolve Viken and reestablish Akershus county.
SpareBank 1 is a Norwegian alliance and brand name for a group of savings banks. The alliance is organised through the holding company SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS owned by the participating banks. In total the alliance is Norway's second largest bank with total assets of NOK 625 billion, 352 branches and 6300 employees. The alliance has its head office in Oslo, Norway. The banks in the SpareBank 1 Alliance distribute SpareBank 1 groups' products and collaborate in key areas such as brands, work processes, expertise development, IT operations and system development.
Sparebankstiftelsen DNB is a Norwegian foundation. The foundation gives financial contributions to a wide range of charitable causes, and is the second largest shareholder of the financial services company DNB. The foundation's capital is a result of accumulated profits from the former savings banks which are now part of DNB.
Gjensidige NOR was a Norwegian bank and insurance company that was in existence between 1999 and 2003. The company was created when the two savings banks Sparebanken NOR (bank) and Gjensidige (insurance) were merged in 1999. In 2002 Norwegian savings banks were allowed to become public limited company and was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. In 2003 the company was merged with Den norske Bank to form DnB NOR, while the original insurance company Gjensidige was demerged and again became a separate company in 2005.
Union Bank of Norway branded as Sparebanken NOR was Norway's largest savings bank between 1990 and 1999. The bank was created as a merger between Sparebanken ABC and four other regional savings banks. The new bank had its headquarters in Oslo and was in existence until 1999 when it merged with Gjensidige to form Gjensidige NOR. Today the bank is part of DnB NOR.
Sparebanken ABC, sometimes branded as ABC Bank, was a Norwegian savings bank based in Oslo, in existence between 1985 and 1990. The bank was a merger between Sparebanken Oslo/Akershus as Christiania Sparebank) and Fellesbanken. The bank lasted until 1990 when it merged with four other savings banks in Eastern Norway to create Sparebanken NOR. The bank is now part of DnB NOR after Sparebanken NOR merged with Gjensidige to create Gjensidige NOR in 1999 and Gjensidige NOR merged with Den norske Bank in 2003 to create DnB NOR.
Gjensidige Forsikring ASA is a Norwegian insurance company. The company traces its roots back to 1816 when a fire mutual was founded as Land Gjensidige Brandkasse in what is today Innlandet county. Gjensidige demutualised and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in December 2010. The firm, headquartered in Oslo, has a market share of some 26% (2021) in the Norwegian insurance market. The company has 36 branch offices in Norway, not including affiliated fire mutuals, and 1 million customers. Gjensidige has subsidiaries in Denmark, Sweden and The Baltics.
Eika Gruppen, formerly Terra-Gruppen, branded as Terra is a strategic alliance among 77 local Norwegian savings banks that co-ordinates work within the areas defined as falling within the alliance. The group supplies products and services to banks and other actors within the financial sector. The services of Eika include product development, procurement of services and products relating to information technology and payment processing, project management, training and expertise development. The financial companies provides a wide range of financial products, including securities, insurance and real estate agencies, financing and debit cards and credit cards. The alliance has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and the ownerbanks has a total assets of NOK 250 billion.
SpareBank 1 SMN is a Norwegian savings bank based in Trøndelag.
SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge is a Norwegian savings bank. The bank has 90 branch offices in Nordland, Tromsø, Finnmark and Svalbard and a head office in Tromsø. It has 250,000 private and 40,000 institutional customers with total assets of NOK 48 billion. It is a founding member of the bank alliance SpareBank 1, with a 19.5% ownership.
SpareBank 1 SR-Bank, formerly Sparebanken Rogaland, is a Norwegian bank and lender with 36 offices from Bergen in the west to Oslo in the east, with head office located in Stavanger. As of 2019, the bank has more than 1,250 employees with its subsidiaries.
Sparebanken Vest is the third largest savings bank in Norway, and the country's second oldest bank. Its predecessor, Bergens Sparebank, was established in 1823. The main offices lie in Bergen, though the bank has branches throughout Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane and Rogaland. Sparebanken Vest was previously a member of the SpareBank1 alliance.
The Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks is the representative body of savings banks in Spain.
SpareBank 1 Østlandet is the fourth largest Norwegian savings bank and is based in eastern Norway. The bank´s major market is in the counties of Innlandet, Oslo and Viken. The company head office is situated in Hamar, and the bank has 37 branches in its market area. SpareBank 1 Østlandet is part of the SpareBank 1 alliance.
Sparebank is a Norwegian savings bank without external owners. The Norwegian sparebanks are a separate type of juridical entity that differ from commercial banks. There are a total of 123 savings banks in Norway.
Ruter AS is the public transport authority for Oslo and Akershus counties in Norway. Formally a limited company – 60% of its shares are owned by the Oslo county municipality and 40% by that of Akershus – it is responsible for the administration, funding, and marketing of public transport in the two counties, including buses, the Oslo Metro, Oslo Trams, and ferry services. Ruter also holds agreements with Entur concerning the regulation of fares on local and regional train services operated within the two counties.
Olav Hytta is a Norwegian businessperson.
Oslo Kunstforening is a contemporary art gallery and art society located in Oslo, Norway.
Arne Jensen was a Norwegian banker.
Viken is a county under disestablishment in Eastern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 by the merger of Akershus, Buskerud and Østfold with the addition of the municipalities of Jevnaker, Lunner and the former municipality of Svelvik. Viken was controversial from the onset, with an approval rating of about 20% in the region, and the merger was resisted by all the three counties. Viken has been compared to gerrymandering. The county executive of Viken determined in 2019, before the merger had taken effect, that the county's disestablishment is its main political goal, and the formal process to dissolve Viken was initiated by the county executive in right after the 2021 Norwegian parliamentary election in which parties seeking to reverse the merger won a majority. The political platform of the government of Jonas Gahr Støre states that the government will dissolve Viken and re-establish Akershus, Buskerud and Østfold based on a request from the county itself. On 22 February 2022, the regional assembly of Viken approved the formal request to disestablish the county, which will come into effect on 1 January 2024. The existing counties will continue to function with separate county administrations based on their existing infrastructure in anticipation of their formal re-establishment.
