Tuesday, July 01, 2003

Danish clearing house split up...

PBS, the Danish interbanc clearing house has announced that it will be split up into three companies:

-PBS Holding A/S

-Multidata Holding A/S

-PBS International Holding A/S



The reason for this split-up is related to the merger between Danske Bank and RealDanmark. This led to a demand from the Danish Competition Authority that Danske Bank should lower its share unit in those parts of PBS that are essential for the Danish payment infrastructure.



The interesting thing to note is that the Danish central bank has bought the shares of Danske Bank. Which, if this move were to continue when other shareholders step out, essentially comes down to a slow move from private to public provision of services......