OSLO, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Norway's largest bank DNB ASA has surpassed Finland-based Nordea Bank Abp to become the biggest lender by market value in the Nordic region, online newspaper E24 reported Tuesday.
The market value of DNB has reached 248 billion kroner (29.1 billion U.S. dollars), while Nordea's market value is 246 billion kroner (28.9 billion U.S. dollars), according to statistics from data company Infront.
The Norwegian bank's growth was due to positive trend in oil industry and low unemployment rate, the report said.
Following the development, the value of DNB's shares increased 11 percent this year, while those of Nordea decreased 11 percent, the report said.
In view of the positive development of the Norwegian economy, the country's central bank raised the policy rate by 0.25 percentage point to 1.25 percent last week.
