ABSTRACT
However, it is not sufficient to look only at the Norwegian banking system as it exists today. It is important to see how this system has been derived. As has been indicated, Norway has steadily reduced the numbers of both its commercial banks and of its savings banks. It now has three large banks, but only one – Kreditkasse/Fiskernes Bank – has a nationwide spread of branches. This structure has an obvious geographical explanation. Apart from a relatively cultivable coastal area running round to the south from Oslo to Bergen, with something of a plateau behind, this being where the bulk of the bank branches are, Norway is very mountainous with heavy snowfall for much of the year. Even with the development of air services to supplement the railways (which link Oslo with important towns like Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger) and the road system, overland transport during the winter months is somewhat limited. For the rest, Norway has a long and highly indented coastline with the mountains rising steeply behind stretching up from Bergen past Trondheim and Tromsø (the 'capital of the Arctic') beyond the North Cape to Kirkenes on the Soviet border. For year-round transport and communication only the Coastal Express (with ships of from about 2,190 to 4,200 tons) keeps a continuing contact with the numerous small towns, villages, and settlements that are strung out along a narrow shore. Even aircraft cannot always get through. And this is where most of the remainder of the bank branches are to be found, as well as the regional and local banks and many of the savings banks.
