Arion Bank named bank of the year in Iceland

The Banker magazine, which is published by The Financial Times, has named Arion Bank as the bank of the year in Iceland for 2015. This is the second time in the last three years in which Arion Bank has won this prestigious award. Stefán Pétursson, CFO of Arion Bank, accepted the award on behalf of Arion Bank.

In explaining its choice The Banker says that it looked to the fact that Arion Bank had delivered excellent financial results, while at the same time it had achieved a low cost-to-income ratio. The Banker also cites Arion Bank’s successful relationship banking approach and the greater contribution of commission income to Arion’s overall income, particularly in asset management and investment banking. Arion Bank’s subsidiaries also played a significant role in this respect, not least Stefnir in its role as a leading fund management company in Iceland, and Valitor, whose international operation is flourishing and which was chosen to service ApplePay in the UK earlier this year.

The Banker noted that Arion Bank had lowered its cost of funding and that it was the first Icelandic bank since 2008 to issue a benchmark bond in euros earlier in the year. The €300 million bond has been performing well on the secondary market and the spread over interbank rates has decreased.

In naming Arion Bank as bank of the year in Iceland, the Banker also looked to Arion’s success in digital banking, with solutions such as the online bank, a new generation of ATMs and not least the highly popular Arion app. Arion Bank has also focused on developing and supporting the startup community in Iceland through Startup Reykjavík, Startup Reykjavík Energy and its billion króna investment in the fund Eyrir Sprotar.

Höskuldur H. Ólafsson, CEO of Arion Bank:
“The award is first and foremost recognition of the excellent work our employees have done in the past few years and of the results we have achieved. We are delighted that Arion Bank has been given this award for the second time by such a respected magazine. As ever the key to success is to develop a strong and effective relationship between our employees and customers. Our role is to support our customers in whatever they are doing and our goal is to do it well so that we can achieve the right results.” 

The photo shows Stefán Pétursson, CFO of Arion Bank, accepting the award on behalf of Arion Bank.