Nordea Bank expands in Estonia

In the next few months, Nordea Bank will open seven new branch offices in Estonia.City Paper salutes Nordea, and we hope it plans to take this market seriously. It’s about time Hansa and SEB have some real competition. But it’s not going to be easy. To date, Nordea has not been much of a force. Here’s what City Paper’s Vello Vikerkaar had to say about Nordea in the June issue: 

In the name of research, I decided to swing by Nordea. Stuck across the lobby from the Palace Hotel bar, Nordea resembles a gypsy camp: it might pick up and move at any moment.

“Can I help you?” a woman asked, peering out from behind the partition on her desk after I’d shuffled my feet a bit to announce my presence.

“Curious about home loans,” I said.

“Fill these out,” she said, pushing a sheaf of papers my way.

“Actually, I have some rather unusual circumstances...”

“Fill these out.” She slapped a pen on the pile.

I took the pile and gave them a once-over. The whole thing felt distinctly governmental. “I think I’ll complete these at home,” I said, stepping back into the Palace lobby, depositing the forms in the trash. Nordea’s not much of a bank, I thought. But you have to ask yourself: how many banks are so close to a Jack on the rocks?

Here’s hoping Nordea’s expansion means a bank in every bar in town.