Arion Bank in the Arc­tic re­gion

Arion Bank is an experienced partner in the fisheries industry and has maintained excellent relationships with powerful fishing companies in Iceland for many years. Today, we aim to leverage our experience and become an active participant in the development of the Arctic region. The bank possesses deep knowledge of fisheries and aquaculture, as well as other sectors, and our experienced staff has extensive expertise in financial products and strong connections with international financial markets.

We focus on serving those industries in the Arctic that we know best and supporting projects where our specialized knowledge is valuable. It's likely that various Icelandic companies will also participate in this development.

Arion Bank's staff has successfully established themselves in new territories. The bank's loans in the Arctic region increased by 87 percent over a twelve-month period, according to Arion Bank's first quarter 2022 financial report. Arion Bank is involved in projects in the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Canada, and Norway. With increased activity in the Arctic, the diversity of Arion Bank's loan portfolio is growing in a region that will experience significant economic growth in the coming years. Among the interesting opportunities in the Arctic is aquaculture, an industry that has seen substantial growth in the Faroe Islands. This growth has contributed to the country's GDP per capita now exceeding that of Denmark.

Arion Bank has strongly supported the development of aquaculture in Iceland. The bank has played a key role in raising capital for aquaculture through equity sales and lending. It likely won't be long before aquaculture becomes one of Iceland's most valuable export industries. Although aquaculture is not without controversy, it's fair to say that its development in Iceland has revitalized struggling communities, creating diverse employment opportunities. It's well known that internationally, salmon farming has enabled educated people who grew up in rural areas to return to their home communities. Before the industry matured, job opportunities for educated individuals in these areas were often limited, but that has now changed. Aquaculture also offers additional positive aspects, including a smaller carbon footprint compared to typical animal protein production. Furthermore, feed utilization in aquaculture is among the most efficient available.

We believe it's logical for Arion Bank, as well as many other Icelandic companies, to look to the Arctic when it comes to sharing the knowledge and experience that has been developed in Iceland. Iceland has much in common with other nations in the region. Iceland is sparsely populated like other countries in the area, the climate is similar, and fishing is economically important throughout the region. Arion Bank has developed extensive experience and knowledge in Iceland's primary industries that we believe can be valuable for development in the Arctic. In our view, Icelandic companies are therefore ideally positioned to provide advice and services for development in the Arctic region.

This article first appeared in the Fiskifréttir magazine published in June 2022 for the fisheries exhibition.