Ole Rosholm, first vice-president and head of international expansion, told nrpn of plans to enter the Irish pensions and life market gradually over the next two years: “We will start by selling individual pension plans as a first step. By the end of 2008 we expect to expand our product range to include corporate pension plans.”

In order to enter the Irish market, Danica’s parent Danske Bank acquired the National Irish Bank in Ireland and Northern Bank in Northern Ireland in late 2004. Danica’s office will be based in Dublin but the firm also intends to operate in Northern Ireland. Danica plans to recruit 25-35 pension specialists for its Irish operation over the next three years.

Mr Rosholm expects the firm’s main challenge to be competition with the existing players. “At present the Irish market is dominated by three large and established pension companies. The limited number of competitors is positive because it means we will get to know our competitors and their benchmarks very well. However, entering a market in which brokers play a significant role is always challenging.”

Mr Rosholm is optimistic about the future growth of the Irish pension market. “There is much potential because only half the population has a pension plan. This figure is bound to grow in the future and therefore we see the Irish market as an interesting opportunity”.

Danica already has operations in Norway and Sweden. It entered the Norwegian pensions market in 2006 and today sells both corporate and private plans.

In Sweden, the firm sells unit-linked products mainly through Danske Bank Sweden. In 2006, Danica’s main fund in Denmark, the DKr200bn (€26.85bn) Danica Traditional, yielded a return of 2.9 per cent.

RC

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