DENMARK TAKES $2.8 BIN HIT AS AMAGERBANKEN FAILS

Guest Thu 10 Feb 2011, 13:58

Denmark takes $2.8 bln hit as Amagerbanken fails

Mon Feb 7, 2011 7:18am EST

* Amagerbanken falls into state's hands

* Danish, Swedish major banks say little or no exposure

* Small Danish banks to feel the pinch -analyst

(Recasts with cost to govt, adds other banks, comment, details, updates shares)

By Mette Fraende

COPENHAGEN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Denmark was lumbered with a $2.8 bln bill on Monday as Amagerbanken (AMBA.CO) became the country's tenth bank to fall into the state's hands in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Amagerbanken said on Sunday it would transfer its assets to Finansiel Stabilitet A/S, the state company that administers failed banks, and administrators would close the bank.

Amagerbanken, which was Denmark's eighth biggest bank in terms of lending, said fourth-quarter writedowns wiped out its equity, attributing a large part to failed property investors. [ID:nLDE7150JC]

The failure of Amagerbanken was roughly the same size as the mid-2008 collapse of Roskilde Bank, previously the biggest Danish bank failure.

The bill to the government for taking over Amagerbanken is 15.2 billion Danish crowns ($2.8 billion), which is the price that the state administrating company Finansiel Stabilitet will pay for the remaining assets.

The Danish banking industry will cover 2.2 billion crowns of that cost through the country's depositary guarantee scheme, Amagerbanken Chairman Niels Heering told a news conference.

If total losses from Amagerbanken rise above 15.2 billion crowns, Danish financial institutions would have to bear a larger burden than 2.2 billion, Heering said.

MAJOR BANKS UNHURT

Denmark's biggest bank Danske Bank (DANSKE.CO), as well as the Nordic region's biggest bank Nordea (NDA.ST) and four competitors said they had little or no exposure to Amagerbanken.

Denmark has the most fragmented banking industry of any of the Nordic countries, with more than 100 financial institutions.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/07/amagerbanken-idUSLDE67A16J20110207