We also have a small investment bank where we're struggling a bit because the competitive environment is very tough there. We have a wholesale bank, which we have restructured in the last couple of years because the returns were too low, but I think we have done a very good job of restructuring that business, which is quite profitable at the moment.
TWST: Did the merger with RealDanmark add a mortgage component to your activities or did you already have an interest there?
Mr. Ovesen: That was clearly one of the rationales behind the merger because we had a too small mortgage operation in Denmark. Banks were not allowed to go into the mortgage market before the nineties in Denmark. Previously, it was a growing business, but the old mortgage institution lost market share quite rapidly in Denmark, when the banks were allowed to go in, because you are really competing on access to customers. The thing is that the banks are much closer to customers than the old mortgage institution. Therefore we see very strong synergies between Danske Banks very strong franchise distribution network in Denmark, and the good brand and the good diversity of the mortgage product that RealDanmark provides, and we have already taken market share because of that.
Tickers included in this excerpt: DB.CO
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