Financial inclusion

Storebrand Bank serves all customer segments in the retail market, and Norwegian citizens and other residents with a D-number can open accounts with us. All customers have access to accounts, online banking, mobile banking, payment services and debit cards. We develop online banking and mobile banking as well as other solutions on an ongoing basis, based on Norwegian market standards and feedback from our customers.  

We provide paper-based/manual services to customers who do not wish or are able to use digital solutions, and they can for example, use form-based payment. Account statements/other communication can also be paper-based, and we offer manual service for other services and assistance through our phone-based customer support team.  

We offer free support on a general basis through the customer support team, and in relation to credit or mortgage customers, we have accredited loan advisers available who provide personal advice to the customers.  

We practice a solid and conservative credit approach in accordance with Norwegian law and best practices for lending to private customers. There is a thorough process to evaluate the customer’s financial soundness in all debt processes: mortgages, consumer loans and credit cards, to ensure the customers take on debt they have the capabilities to repay.  

All mortgage advisers must be authorized in credit and personal insurance. During this course, which takes about 1.5 years, one area covered is how to communicate and handle advisory dialogues in a good manner. The purpose is to ensure that the customer’s interests and needs are looked after in the best way (e.g. through professionalism, customer privacy and documentation of agreements). 

The bank also offers investment advice to the wealth segment, and all customers have access to the Kron application (which will become part of the bank in 2024). Kron is a digital investment platform that was acquired in January 2023, and the mission of the service is to democratize investments: make investment services that have traditionally been available to the few, easily available to everyone, through honest and understandable communication and smart use of technology. Kron’s client base is younger and more gender equal than the industry average, and consists of both seasoned investors with more than 500 MNOK and people who try investing 300 NOK for the first time. The share of female clients in Kron is 48 % of the total number of clients. We have kept fulfilling the mission at an even faster rate since being part of the Storebrand Group: since January 2023 Kron has almost doubled the number of active investors from 41.500 to 80.500, and more than doubled assets under management from 7 BNOK to 16.7 BNOK (numbers as of May 7, 2024). By year end 2023 the number of clients in Kron was 65.621. 

Storebrand has a fast growing insurance business towards the retail market, both within personal lines and P&C. A large corps of accredited advisors will map the customers’ insurance needs, and there are also digital solutions for customers who wish to complete the process in digital interfaces.  

People who are kept away from normal working life due to disability lose the opportunity for gradual economic and career development throughout their lives.

The number of work-disabled people in Norway has steadily increased and was at the end of 2023 close to 10.4 % of all people in the working age population.1)

There has been a decrease in the number of work-disabled people above the age of 45. The share of work-disabled youths (below 30) as stabilized at 2.6 %, after increasing with 1.2 percentage points since 2014. While this is good news, the level is still too high, and is mainly due to mental illnesses and behavioural disorders (67.8 %). In 2023 there was an increase in number of work-disabled people in the ages of 30-34 and 40-44 years old. 

Each day, 73 people fall out of the work force, and only 30 % of those will return back to work. This is a huge cost for the person, society and the employer, as well as for Storebrand.

As a large provider of disability pensions, Storebrand has a yearly cost of 2 billion NOK due to work disability. The challenges regarding work disability are not something that can be solved by one part only, it needs to be a collective effort. Of the UN 17 sustainability goals, at least three of them can be directly linked to this challenge: ”Good health and well-being”, ”Decent work and economic growth” and ”Reduced inequalities”.

Storebrand offers insurance solutions that give employees of our business customers financial security if they become work-disabled, but we want to do more to prevent them from being left out. Based on the insights we have gathered over 30 years about the reasons why people fall outside, we believe that we can offer targeted help where work opportunities are mapped, and health problems are treated at the same time.

That is why Storebrand has launched four pilot projects – three preventive and one reactive - to prevent sick leave and help those who are on sick leave to return to work, and to help those who have become disabled to return to work. Two of the projects contain interdisciplinary health service, supplemented by career guidance, one project focus on the negative effect financial worrying has on psychological wellbeing, and the final project on physical activities. Among our corporate insurance clients, approximately 9550 employees have access to one of the pilot projects. So far, around 350 people have received help and support through the different pilots, and the results seem promising. The pilot projects will finish during summer 2024.

Storebrand Equal Opportunities is an equity fund investing in companies well-positioned to solve pressing social needs, as identified in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The investment universe for the fund is global, providing coverage of both developed markets and emerging markets. Storebrand aims for this fund to help fulfil a core principle underlying the SDGs: creating equal access to opportunities for the world’s entire population. Storebrand Equal Opportunities focuses on companies that are making essential digital, financial, and health-related services available to more people worldwide. The fund targets companies across sectors such as women’s health, digital health, microfinance, and internet access, among others. There are still billions of people who do not have access to essential services that most of us depend on. We believe the companies that help solve problems like these – some of the most important problems faced by people around the world – will perform well in the future.

Learn more about Storebrand Equal Opportunities