How big is the money laundering bank Danske Bank?

The largest financial scandal ever has arrived at the shores of Denmark. It involves money laundering at the Estonian branch of Danske Bank; the largest bank in Denmark. The story was first brought to daylight by Danish newspaper Berlingske in collaboration with journalists from the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in March 2017:
Laundered billions poured through Danish banks

Recently it has received widespread media attention, as the reported numbers have grown to a somewhat astronomical size. Wednesday Danske Bank announced the conclusion of their investigation in a press release. The CEO (Thomas Borgen) also announced he would be stepping down voluntarily. Here a few of the recent articles regarding the case from the WSJ and others:

Sep20 WSJ: Denmark Reopens Investigation into Russia-Linked Money Laundering Case

Sep19 Reuters: Danske Bank CEO quits over $234 billion money laundering scandal

Sep19 Guardian: Danske Bank chief resigns over €200bn money-laundering scandal

Sep19 NYT: Danske Bank Says Billions May Have Been Laundered at Single Branch

Sep19 CNBC: Danske Bank CEO quits in a $234 billion money laundering scandal

Sep14 WSJ: U.S. Probes Danske Bank Over Russian Money Laundering Allegations

The Danish and Estonian Financial Services Authorities released a joint statement in May and the former has commented on the case and commented on the investigation by Danske Bank.

I thought it would be beneficial to myself and others to get a grasp of just how big Danske Bank is, so I created 1) a figure showing the size of Danske Bank compared to other Danish banks in terms of assets, 2) a chart showing the revenue over time of Danish banks, 3) a table showing the size of Danske Bank and other international money center banks relative to GDP and 4) a histogram showing Danske Bank contributing approximately DKK3b of DKK60b in corporate tax revenue in 2016. I think it’s fair to say that the conclusion is that Danske Bank is BIG relative to its peers and the Danish GDP.


CountryNameAssets (USDm)Assets / GDP (%)
JPMorgan2,533,60013%
Bank of America2,281,23412%
Wells Fargo1,951,75710%
Citigroup1,842,46510%
Danske Bank559,167172%
Svenska Handelsbanken315,50559%
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken291,85854%
Swedbank252,29647%

Generals Mills 2019Q1

General Mills reported earnings today (press release). US yogurt sales are down once again (by 2.8%), but the loss of market share to Chobani and the negative growth seems to be slowing down (-22% the previous year and -15% the year before that) . Margins are down (gross 32.8% from 36.5% and operating 14.7% from 16.7%), whereas operating expenses do not seem to have spiralled out of control yet (SG&A $743M up 9.4% from $679M, which is only slightly outpacing the revenue growth of 8.6%). Here links to the press release, 8K, 10Q, webcast and transcript.

CNBC: General Mills drops the most since March after reporting falling demand, lower margins
– Cheerios cereal maker General Mills missed analysts’ estimates for quarterly sales.
– Results were hit by lower demand for its snacks and yogurts in the U.S.
– General Mills, like its rivals, is battling rising freight costs as railroads and truck fleets hike rates, as well as higher input costs.

Bloomberg: General Mills Dives Most in Six Months as Revenue Falls Short
– Cheerios, Yoplait maker reiterates tepid full-year forecast
– CEO Harmening defended price paid for Blue Buffalo pet food

Reuters: General Mills shares tumble as first-qtr sales, margins disappoint

CNBC NBR: Sales growth dissapoints at General Mills

Below figures with regards to revenue, expenses, profits, margins and YoY growth rates for the entire business and for each of the segments. Further below comparison of margins and multiples on an annual and quarterly basis with other packaged food companies.