History

Glitnir traces its history back to 1904, when the first privately owned bank in Iceland, Íslandsbanki hf., was established. Since then, we have undergone a number of mergers with banks and investment credit funds in Iceland, grown through strategic acquisitions in Norway, Sweden and Finland, and grown internationally through organic development. We have played a key role in Iceland’s economic progress in the twentieth century. Today Glitnir has over 2200 employees in eleven countries, as of December 31, 2007.

In May 2000, Íslandsbanki and FBA (The Icelandic Investment Bank), merged to create a leading financial services company in Iceland. Before the merger, Íslandsbanki was the second largest commercial bank in Iceland and the only privately owned bank. FBA was the leading investment bank in Iceland, established in 1998 through a merger of four state-owned investment credit funds which were the main providers of long-term credit to Icelandic industries for most of the twentieth century.

Since the merger of Íslandsbanki and FBA in 2000, we have undergone a steady and significant growth and considerably expanded our operations. In late 2004, we acquired KredittBanken ASA (now Glitnir Bank), a niche bank located in Norway with a focus on the seafood and the offshore service vessel industry. In the first quarter of 2005, we acquired BNbank in Norway, a commercial bank focused on mortgage loans. These two acquisitions gave us a strong foothold in the Norwegian market.

Through our acquisitions and organic initiatives, we have significantly expanded our international presence in the last several years. We now have offices in London (2001), Luxembourg (2003), Copenhagen (2005), Halifax (2006), Shanghai (2006), Stockholm (2006), Helsinki (2007), Moscow and St. Petersburg (2007), and New York (2007). Our international expansion has been driven by our desire to serve our Nordic customers in their own global expansion, to reach potential customers in our specialized industry sectors located worldwide, and to diversify and balance our growth.

In March 2006 we changed our name from Íslandsbanki to Glitnir and adopted a new logo and appearance.