The BANK of Greenland was founded in 1967 by a group of Danish banks.

The founding meeting was held on 26 May 1967 at the offices of the Danish Association of Banks in Copenhagen.

The founders:

• Privatbanken
• Den Danske Landmandsbank (Den Danske Bank)
• Kjøbenhavns Handelsbank
• Members of the Danish Association of Provincial Banks
• Members of the Association of Banks in Copenhagen of 1920
• Andelsbanken

The first bank in Greenland was now a reality. The bank opened on 1 July 1967. Nine months earlier, the savings bank Bikuben (restructured as Nuna Bank in 1985) opened a branch office in Nuuk. In 2021, the BANK of Greenland's share capital was DKr 180,000,000, and its largest shareholders are:

• Greenland Holding A/S 15,26 pct. (company announcement 2018-06-20)
• Nuna Fonden 13,98 pct.
• AP Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab 12,87 pct. (company announcement 2017-05-31)
• Betri P/F (tidligere TF Holding) 9,88 pct. (company announcement 2021-05-21)
• LB Foreningen F.m.b.a./LB Forsikring A/S 6,33 pct. (company announcement 2021-06-24)
• Kim Bjørn Pedersen/immoinvest.dk ApS 5,0 pct. (company announcement 2021-06-23)

Branch Offices

1985 was the year that the bank began to open branch offices along the west coast of Greenland. The Ilulissat and Sisimiut branches opened in February and Qaqortoq opened in April. In 1989, the branch in Maniitsoq opened. Most recently, the bank has opened a cashless branch in Aasiaat.

Growing Volume of Business - increased used of IT

There was no such thing as computerized banking when the bank opened in 1967. We had a few bookkeeping machines where an operator could make entries, but interest calculations were made manually by calculating interest figures. 1976 saw the introduction of bookkeeping machines that could automatically calculate interest. This was a major improvement. In 1980, the bank decided to apply for membership to Bankernes EDB Central (BEC) in Roskilde, Denmark. The switch to computerized banking took place on 21 September 1981.

Collaboration with KNI and Post Greenland

Since 1967, the bank has been working together with KNI/Post Greenland to offer basic banking services in the towns and settlements where The BANK of Greenland has no branch. Up until 1990, a manual system was in place that made possible a large number of errors and made great demands on the bank's resources.
 

In 2004, an agreement was entered into to develop a new banking system for use in the towns and settlements where there is no branch office. The system enables our customer to deposit and withdraw money on the customers' own accounts by means of an ordinary payment card. Since 2010, basic banking services outside the bank's branch offices have been run by KNI.

The History of Nuna Bank

Nuna Bank was founded 8 June 1985 with a share capital of DKr 120,000,000. The bank began operations on 1 July 1985 when it took over Bikuben's four offices in Greenland.

All of the bank's employees were taken over by Nuna Bank thus enabling the bank to take advantage of Bikuben's goodwill in Greenland and its 19 years of experience in the country.

The decision to found a bank was based on Bikuben's wish to adapt even more to the society of Greenland as well as Greenland's Home Rule's wish to acquire banking know-how by means of stock holdings in a Greenlandic bank.

The bank's goal was to provide wage-earners, commercial customers, the municipalities and Home Rule with individual and professional customer service. The bank placed great emphasis on continuing its relationships with all its customer segments.

By means of its close cooperation with Bikuben, Nuna Bank managed to maintain the advantages associated with the support provided by a major credit institution.

Among other advantages, this cooperation enabled the bank to draw on Bikuben's expertise. Within the framework of the Danish bank and savings bank legislation concerning the size of exposures, the bank was thus able to handle virtually all financing duties.

Nuna Bank and The BANK of Greenland merged under The BANK of Greenland's name in 1997.