By Associated Press - Thursday, September 5, 2019

HELSINKI (AP) - The Nordic region’s largest bank, Nordea, has appointed insider Frank Vang-Jensen as its new CEO as the firm faces growing pressure to lower costs and boost revenue after years of restructuring.

The bank, based in Helsinki, said Thursday that Vang-Jensen, the current head of Nordea’s personal banking division, will take over with immediate effect from Casper von Koskull, who announced in June his retirement next year.

Vang-Jensen, a 51-year-old Dane, joined Nordea in 2017 having earlier worked as a CEO of Swedish bank Svenska Handelsbanken.

Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, took a 2.3% stake in Nordea in 2018 and its co-founder, Christer Gardell, has urged the bank to speed up its cost-cutting to catch up with rivals on profitability.

Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden are Nordea’s home markets.

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