Scandinavian bank Nordea is closing down its Nordic equity research department and outsourcing the operations to Standard & Poor's.
Under the agreement, Standard & Poor's will establish an equity research team in Stockholm, comprising 20 analysts to provide the bank's customers with equity research covering 1,500 international and 200 Nordic stocks.
The bank will close its existing Nordic company research department within its Nordea Markets unit and establish a new integrated research unit, called Alpha Research Team, located in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm.
Nordea says the move is in response to market trends - including regulatory developments - which are making it difficult for banks to justify retaining an inhouse equity research operation with high fixed costs.
Frans Lindelöw, head of equities at Nordea, adds: "Our agreement with Standard & Poor's will significantly improve our equity research offering and ensure independency without increasing our cost base."
Last year Nordea Securities outsourced its non-Nordic equity research to Standard & Poor's.