<p align="justify">Danske bank is the Danish bank; it was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the largest Danish bank, it has more than 22,000 employees globally and it has 2.9 million personal and business customers, it has a global presence spanning 13 countries including Nordic countries. (Danske Bank, 2020). It generates significant revenue from retail customers and has a market capitalization of $16.6 billion (Forbes, 2020). Danske Bank provides services to corporate clients as well as individual customers; it operates through different departments including Business banking, personal banking, and capital financing department and non-core activities. Porter&#8217;s five forces model is the appropriate tool to assess the opportunities available to banks and potential business and financial risks it is exposed to.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Competitive Rivalry in the Market</h2>
<p align="justify">Usually, competition in any industry increases if there are the numbers of service providers that exist in that particular industry. According to the research report published by Danish Competition and Consumer Authority (2013), there are 110 active banks in retail banking sector out of those only eight banks covers the entire countries’ retail market; Danske bank and Nordea bank has the significant share of the retail market in comparison to the other banks. The major competitors in the Danish retail banking sector are Danske Bank, Swedbank AB, and Nordea Bank. Danske Bank has an annual income for 2019 DKK 21.8 billion and net profit of DKK 15.1 billion (Danske bank, 2020); in comparison, Swedbank AB has an annual revenue of SEK 45.9 billion (Statista, 2020) and Nordea bank has Net interest income of EUR 4.3 billion (Nordea, 2020). The competition in the Danish retail banking market is moderate.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Threat of Substitutes</h2>
<p align="justify">The banking and financial services sector existed for a long time; Threats of substitutes arise if there is a better alternative available. As far as the retail banking sector is concerned; there are fintech startups that offer the one-off product as an alternative to the product offered by the retail banks and try to create a specialized market for that. In the financial services industry, fundamental innovation is long due; as much as it is necessary it has its challenges. Retail banks offer bundled services for which no other better alternative yet exists. Danish banking industry is already future-driven and it is already one of the most digitized in the world (European Banking Federation, 2019). There is potential for innovation and radical transformation, but in short-term there are no real substitutes exist.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Threat of New Entrants</h2>
<p align="justify">The threat of new entrants in the Danish banking industry is considered moderate. Globally initial requirements for opening of a bank are standard practice; these regulatory requirements are in place to create a balance between financial stability and maintain a constructive competition. In Denmark, local and regional banks have great presence and foreign bank penetration is difficult due to difficulty in a hostile takeover, small economy and cultural barriers. There is a strict compliance framework to be adhered to. The initial capital required to open a bank in Denmark is EUR 8 million; which is higher than the European Union standard requirement (IMF, 2007). Thus, the threat of new competitors is moderate in the Danish economic setup.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Bargaining Power of Buyers</h2>
<p align="justify">There is a proliferation of local and regional banks in Denmark. According to the report by Danish Competition and Consumer Authority (2013) consumers prefer a bank located near their home, thus leaving them with few options and one out of ten Dan’s opted to switch banks; this ratio is lower than most European nations. The report also stated that there is a significant average savings if a consumer switches from the most expensive to the least expensive bank. The prevalent norms and moderate competition in the banking sector put consumers bargaining power at a moderate level.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Bargaining Power of Suppliers</h2>
<p align="justify">The financial institutions, especially retail banks have these resources of supply customer deposits, loans from other institutes and experts. In the case of the Danish banking, industry customers hold moderate bargaining power due to the reasons explained above. Institutional loans have strict due diligence process before they extend credit, so they have high bargaining power. Lastly; there are significant people in the banking industry and there is free movement of labor in European Union Economic bloc, thus increasing available financial experts eligible and willing to do work in the banking industry. In conclusion, suppliers have moderate bargaining power in Danish Banking industry.</p>
<h2>References</h2>
<p>Danish Competition and Consumer Authority. (2013). Available at: https://www.en.kfst.dk/media/3304/competition-in-the-danish-retail-banking-market-summary-and-main-conclusions-10042013-analyse.pdf<br />
Danske Bank. (2020). about us. Available at: https://danskebank.com/about-us<br />
Danske Bank. (2020). Investor Relations. Available at: https://danskebank.com/investor-relations/reports<br />
European Banking Federation. (2019). Denmark’s Banking sector: Facts and Figures. Available at: https://www.ebf.eu/denmark/<br />
Forbes. (2020). Danske Bank. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/companies/danske-bank/#63bf3f144242<br />
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Country Report. (2007). Denmark: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note-Competition in Banking Sector. Available at: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2016/12/31/Denmark-Financial-Sector-Assessment-Program-Technical-Note-Competition-in-the-Banking-Sector-20598<br />
Nordea. (2020). Press and news. Available at: https://www.nordea.com/en/press-and-news/news-and-press-releases/press-releases/2020/02-06-06h30-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-results-2019.html<br />
Statista. (2020). Revenues of Swedbank AB from 2009 to 2019. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1050046/revenues-of-swedbank-ab/</p>